Dreaming Big: Q&A with ‘Daddy, I Want to be a Ninja’ Author
I was absolutely delighted to receive my own copy of this book from the author! Thank you so much, Jean-Paul! I love this story so much and you truly have made your mark on the bookish world.
Hello, Bookish Queen readers!
Today’s post is a special one. We are chatting about a picture book titled Daddy, I Want to be a Ninja and even have the honor of talking with the author, Jean-Paul Colemonts himself!
I like this book because of its encouragement of big dreams and big goals. It’s not uncommon for society to muffle or quiet young voices and fail to encourage dreaming both loudly and boldly. This book does the complete opposite and is an inspiration to all young readers!
I was honored when the author agreed to be interviewed for this post! He is so very talented, and I am so excited for all of the Bookish Queen readers to get to see a little behind the scenes in his own words.
You will also see some of his illustrations from the book throughout the Q&A, and before you go, don’t forget to click the link on the bottom to purchase the book through Amazon!
One more thing before we get started. 😊If you would like to win a free copy of the book featured in this post, Jean-Paul is hosting a giveaway on Goodreads! It ends May 3rd, so enter quickly at this link for a chance to win!
Jean-Paul,
Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed on the Bookish Queen! I am truly honored to have you. For our readers who are not yet familiar with you or your work, introduce yourself, and tell us what inspired you to start writing!
Thank you, Elena. I’m a graphic designer based in Belgium; I was born in Brazil, and Portuguese is my native language.
I’ve always loved drawing, and when my son Victor was born, we used to play lots of games together—drawing, learning the letters of the alphabet, and so on.
When Victor was supposed to stop using his pacifier, I created my first story, “Oscar the Pacifier Gnome” about a gnome who recycles pacifiers and turns them into new toys.
So we started drawing and while talking with other friends, I learned about Create Space, which is now Amazon KDP.
My books are available exclusively on Amazon through KDP, which allows me to publish them using my own designs and creative vision. I handle everything myself, which gives me the freedom to release my books exactly as I want.
From what I know, you both wrote and illustrated “Daddy, I Want to be a Ninja”. Tell us a little more about that!
For this book, I drew everything myself because Victor is getting older now and has other interests. He came up with the basic idea when I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He immediately replied, ‘
Daddy, I Want to be a Ninja”. I thought the story was really interesting; he’s crazy about Japanese culture and cuisine. He knows a lot about Japan and wants to visit the country as soon as possible.
What was the inspiration behind writing this story? What message would you like readers both young and old, to take away after reading your book?
After Victor told me about being a ninja, I looked up some old publications about Japanese ninjas. I ended up discovering that what we know about ninjas isn’t really what we see in the movies. Ninjas were true spies and trained hard to earn the title of “Shinobi.”
A ninja’s last resort is combat; in other words, above all else, being a ninja means having self-control and using one’s intelligence to find solutions.
Ninjas were incredibly skilled; they would actually create their own smoke screens to disappear, and they would even bring crickets to their opponents’ palaces to make noise so they could sneak in unseen. They would disguise themselves and never draw attention, they must be very smart and study a lot.
Perhaps the most important message is the conversation between a child and his father about the child’s plans for the future and how the parent can use those ideas to turn them into motivation.
Tell us about the best part of this book in your opinion.
For me, the best part of the book is when the son tells his father about his ambitions. Being a ninja requires a lot of discipline, and a goal like that deserves attention, since the son wants to be trained by the best of masters, which shows a lot of determination.
The role of children is to dream, and that of adults is to teach and explain that, in order to achieve our goals, we must have a lot of willpower and not give up in the face of life’s challenges.
I love “Daddy, I Want to be a Ninja”. Tell us one more thing about this book- it can be whatever you want!
In most ninja books, we always see fights and weapons. I tried to tell a story about nonviolence and inner control.
In this book, the ninja doesn’t use any weapons. His only weapons are his intelligence and wisdom!
I believe we should teach children to avoid violence, not to discriminate based on race, and to always try to understand others. We can always talk things through to find a solution.
Jean-Paul, thank you so much for sharing your story full of wisdom and encouragement with the world.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links–at no extra cost to you. Thanks for helping me keep the pages turning!
Amazon author –> https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jean-Paul-Colemonts/author/B0763BW4D9?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=8f398d02-5087-487f-8ef1-23179db168c2
The Bookish Queen 
Book talk starts here 👇