Kanab High School (KHS) recent 2021 graduates, William Douglass and Landon Adams, have collaborated to create a children’s science picture book, titled, “Our World by Size”. Douglass was the Visual Arts Sterling Scholar and Adams was the Science Sterling Scholar for the 2021 school year.
When asked what inspired the duo to write a children’s book, Adams divulged he has always enjoyed reading books about facts, and loved reading national geographic magazines and Smithsonian books when he was younger. Adams has always loved science and English, and felt that writing a children’s book was the perfect way to combine the two!
Though Douglass is incredibly talented as an artist, he shares a love of science as well, and thought creating this book with Landon would be a great avenue for combining the two passions into a children’s book.
Adams said, “One of the hardest things about writing/illustrating a book is how to get it printed and published. There is a lot that actually goes on behind the scenes when authors write books, and this has been a great learning experience for me. Not only have we really needed to crunch numbers, but we have also needed to figure out everything, down to if we want to patent the ‘Our world by’ title. We have also learned to work together and to make sure that we are both on the same page.”
For Douglass, one of the hardest things about writing/illustrating a book was getting all of the content in order to actually get the book made. He shared that another challenging aspect was, “ … drawing images that I believe go with the narrative that are aesthetically pleasing.”
“One of my most influential mentors throughout my education was Kim Titus,” Adams said. “She not only taught me science and encouraged me to learn more in the fields of Earth, Science and Chemistry, but she also was a Sterling Scholar coach. As the science teacher, she was able to connect me to different projects in the school lab. Her husband even allowed me to work in the BLM Paleontology Lab uncovering Tyrannosaurus fossils. She especially helped William and me with our book, by pre-reading it and helping us develop writing ideas.”
Douglass paid tribute to his art teachers, Joshua Baird (KHS art teacher) and Nicole Houston (KMS art teacher), as being two of the most influential mentors he has had. “I have also been very influenced by the artwork of my late father,” Douglass added.
What does the future hold for these ambitious young men? Adams plans to serve a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, before heading to Brigham Young University-Provo, where he hopes to major in Biology, following a pre-med track. “As science is something that I have loved since a child,” he said, “this career field will fit perfectly with my passion.”
Douglass plans to go to the University of Utah this coming fall where he will pursue subjects in his sterling scholar field; architecture with a minor in graphic design and fine arts.
The graduates had fun collaborating together to create a book, which educates children about the world around them. They hope children of all ages will enjoy the pictures and fun facts found in the book.
You can preorder the book for $19.99, now through July 15, by emailing ourworldby@gmail.com. The cost will go up to $20.99 after the preorder window. Local orders will be hand delivered, while out of the area orders will have an additional shipping cost.
Landon and William wish to express their gratitude for any orders, as they will help pay for their college education!
