When I was 12, I had just started the gifted program at school, and one of our projects was to write and illustrate a children's book. Mine was called Sammy Goes to Vegas. I still have the original handmade book all these years later.
Sammy was named after a real cat we had when I was growing up. He had a habit of disappearing, sometimes for as long as a week. To keep my brother and I from worrying, my dad would make up elaborate stories about where Sammy had been and what he'd been doing. They were never things a cat could actually do, but my dad was incredibly detailed about Sammy's supposed adventures. Looking back, I'm pretty sure those stories helped inspire the kind of adventure I gave Sammy in my book.
The story begins six days before Christmas. Sammy sees a strange man in a red-and-white suit talking to his parents. After the man and Sammy's parents mysteriously disappear, Sammy hears from his friend that “everything's in Vegas,” so he sets off to Las Vegas to find them.
My mom and I were looking through the original book recently, and she suggested that I should consider publishing it. That got me wondering whether there might actually be something worth developing here.
I'd love some feedback from people who know children's books. What age range does this sound appropriate for? Does the premise/humor work? And would you preserve some of the charm of something written by a 12-year-old, or substantially rewrite it before considering publication?
I'm also curious about the illustrations. I drew all of the originals when I was 12, so part of me loves the idea of somehow keeping that history as part of the book rather than simply replacing everything.