A must read for real bookworms

“The March of the Maggots” has also found a home at the Bristow Middle School library and was featured in their school newspaper. “My grandma brought the book to my school and my principal put it in the school newspaper,” Sofia said. “My teachers were saying, ‘Oh you published a book’ and some people were saying ‘Oh, I saw your book in the library.’”

The pair wanted to write a story that would keep readers engaged while also teaching them something. They said that a children’s book would appeal to a wider audience. “My desire was to write a book that would be engaging, long enough yet short enough that they could finish it, because if they finish that, they can maybe pick up another book,” Alward said.

Writing the book came from the desire for her and Sofia to to start and finish a project together. Alward had already written a few pages when she and Sofia decided to work on the book together, but the rough draft stage also taught them patience with the process and each other, “Part of what I would recommend for anyone that wants to write a book, especially with the age gap, you have to understand if you are going to publish a book it’s not going to happen tomorrow,” Alward said, “So you have to be patient with the process, and you have to be patient with each other, as we both have ideas but knowing we have to come to a middle ground and write what’s best for our audience.”

Anderson also appreciates the book because it was a good learning experience on how to work with other people, and receiving positive and negative criticism. “We did a lot of drafts back and forth with the illustrators on what we wanted, and what we didn’t want,” she said. “We had to figure out things that kids would actually want to read and stuff that would catch their eye, not just the book, but on the cover too.”

While the book is a collaborative effort between Sofia and Sandra, family and friends contributed during the various rough draft phases, including Sofia’s father, who wrote the book’s jingle at the end. They also included reviews from local kids ages 6-13 in the first couple of pages because they wanted to receive honest feedback from those within and outside their audience.

The pair hope to write more books together soon, and do have some ideas in the works, but nothing concrete yet, “Hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to get to write another book. We’re very excited that this book has been well received and is liked,” Alward said.