Debut children's book turns heartache into story of hope

The joys of disgruntled children and his own struggle with IVF are inspirations behind a musician's debut story for children.

The Magic Stick Box is the first tale from musician and author Michael Kujawa, who says the punchline is “a cranky kid, a desperate dad and imagination running wild”.

“It's a day where nothing's going right for the dad, and his child will not stop crying. So he pulls out the magic stick box.

“And as he draws – not very well – and those images come to life and fill the room with excitement and wonder for himself and the child.”

It’s the ultimate story for parents struggling with their own little treasures/nightmares, Kujawa says it’s inspired by his friend’s experience as a father and his own battle with IVF.

Michael and his wife moved from the states to Australia in 2009 and were eager to raise a family, but when “things weren’t happening”, they decided to try IVF.

“We did a lot, a lot, a lot of rounds in a very short period of time, and it just became too taxing,” Michael says.

“We had to kind of weigh up – what's the gain versus the risk right now – we can’t keep doing this.

“So that's when we kind of decided, well, let's just be the best godparent, the best aunt and uncle we can be to those kids in our lives and just relish them.”

Michael says the book is his way of living out his own family experience in spite of he and his wife’s struggle.

“Everything I write, I kind of find and interject the dad I would have wanted to be into it,” Michael says.

“And that father-child relationship that I always imagined myself in.”

Michael has been able to experience the joy that his book brings first hand as he toured back in his hometown in Ohio, visiting schools for readings.

“Going to the schools and seeing them interact with the story, interact with the illustrations, and then the engagement after we read the book, follow-up activities was really, really rewarding,” Michael says.

“It was also reassuring to me ... it's one of those things you go the first time, like, can I do this?

“And yeah, I've got no problem being childish, so it was really good.”

The whole experience has been daunting but rewarding for Michael as he steps into the world of being an author.

“I'm new to this industry. I've been a musician, so I'm not uncomfortable being in front of people, but being in front of five-year-olds is a different type of anxiety.”

Inspirations such as Shel Silverstein and Dr Suess had always been rattling inside Michael's head from a young age, the poems The Sidewalk and Light in the Attic being the standouts.

For Michael, becoming an author wasn’t so much a transition from his career as a musician but an opportunity to express himself in a different form.

“So for me to have just been an adult and just had this kind of dad energy that I was, pointing in a specific direction, I just started putting pen to paper, literally,” Michael says.

He hopes The Magic Stick Box will be the first of many in his catalogue as he is working on an “encyclopaedia” of stories.

To find a copy of The Magic Stick Box, you can head to themagicstickbox.com or michaelkujawa.com