Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

Congratulations to Andrea and Braden Kurth on the release of Zac's Mighty Wheels and the Case of the Missing Grannies

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

As a special education teacher, I learned how important it was that all kids were represented in books. This was a very important message of diversity that I believed I needed to incorporate into my classroom. As I started reading books with kids of different races to my students, I realized that my students' disabilities weren't being represented, so my students couldn't see themselves in the stories. More recently, I found books that explained various disabilities, which are important to have in classroom libraries, but I wanted to read fun, exciting chapter books to my students in which they also could see themselves.

Then I met Zac, a hilarious kid who had an effect on everyone he met. I’m not sure what it was, but while I was teaching him, I felt like God told me I needed to write a book that represented Zac. He was in a wheelchair, like a lot of my students at the time, but had a degenerative type of MD called Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Unfortunately, Zac was 5 months shy of seeing the actual book come to life, but I’m sure he is happy that other kids in wheelchairs are being represented in books, and more importantly that he is the main character who’s a superhero. 10% of our profits from books one and two are donated to DMD.

I also wanted to show other disabilities and decided two of my former students, Anna and Cody, would be great representatives. Anna has cerebral palsy and uses leg braces and a crutch to help her walk and Cody has Down syndrome. Both are spunky kids who I loved to teach. I wish I could put all my students in my books, seriously, I really wish I could, but after 21 years of teaching, I really had too many students that left an impact on my heart. So although all my students inspire me, I decided to end there as far as using real names, except for one last person.

The person who inspired me to be a special education teacher, my brother Bobby. My brother has a severe intellectual disability called cri-du-chat syndrome and is featured in our second book. He is now 42 and continues to bring joy to the people around him. In our story, Cody doesn’t seem like he has an intellectual disability, but I wanted Bobby to, and I think we were able to find that balance without making the book about the disability.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

My goal for the books is to add different disabilities into each book so that by the time the series is complete, everyone will feel represented. Currently, disabilities are only represented in 3.4% of children’s books while 25% of the population have a disability. The more disabilities that are represented the more inclusive the world can be. We also try to represent different races and family structures. Single moms and adoption are included in our books as well.

After our first book was published last year, I loved hearing from other special education teachers that their students told them, “She has crutches like me!” and "He's in a wheelchair like me!" I also heard from a parent who ran field day who realized she needed to make it accessible for a student who was in a wheelchair, just after reading our book. Zac’s Mighty Wheels is not about disability or race, it's about the story, so it can be read in every house or classroom and help everyone be a little more inclusive.

The two of you collaborated to write the story. Can you walk us through your creative process working together?

My younger son Owen helped me write the first book, giving me ideas that would appeal to younger readers. At the time we started he was only 8 and very imaginative (still is!). We worked on it so slowly that by the time I was really serious about it, he forgot we were writing a book! He was 12, almost 13, when we published Zac’s Mighty Wheels and the Giant Problem. My older son, Braden, who is now 16, helped me write our second book, Zac’s Mighty Wheels and the Case of the Missing Grannies. He helped create the outline, story ideas, and provided valuable feedback to make it the book we have today.

What are your marketing plans for the book?

I just finished a Kickstarter and had 103 backers that helped bring the book to life. The book is currently being printed and the plan is to launch on Amazon and Barnes and Noble on December 6. We would love to see the book in every classroom and every bookshelf of children that love chapter books.

What's next for you?

As soon as this book is launched, and we have time over Christmas break, book three of Zac's Mighty Wheels will be started. My goal is 10 books in this series. I would love my sons to continue writing with me and we will see what the future holds. I also have written a picture book with my mom about my brother. We will be publishing that within the next six months as well. Hopefully, Zac's Mighty Wheels will become as popular as the Magic Tree House and help our world be a bit more inclusive.

A little bit about the book . . .

Zac and his friends are back for another exciting adventure!

It seemed like a normal day—school, hanging out with friends, flying through the sky with Zac and his wheelchair—until the grandmas start disappearing. Luckily, Zac and his friends are on the case. Trying to find the person behind the mask leads them on a brave quest, but will they find their grandmas or will the masked person keep the grandmas to himself forever?

A little bit about the authors . . .

Andrea Kurth, a special education teacher from Michigan with more than 20 years of experience, realized her students weren’t often represented in books and wanted to change that. Inspired by her students, she set out to create a fun series where the story is the focus, not the disability, and is filled with adventure for younger children but exciting enough for the older struggling reader. Everyone should be represented in books. When Andrea isn’t teaching or writing, she enjoys traveling with her wonderful husband and sons. Find the books at https://www.kurthbooks.com/ and for free lesson plans. You can also connect at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/zacsmightywheels/

https://www.instagram.com/zacsmightywheels/

Braden Kurth is a high school student who enjoys hanging out with friends and family, playing video games, and many other things. He aspires to be an entrepreneur.

The picture is also with my other son, Owen, because he helped write the first book.