Children’s Book Recommendation: Maxwell by Jeremy Gredone

A groundbreaking new addition to the children’s book pantheon, “Maxwell,” by Jeremy C. Gredone, is as exciting and fresh as it is interactive and innovative. Children will delight in Maxwell’s invitation to join in on the celebration of imagination, and will inevitably become an integral part of the story for all future readings to come.

What makes Maxwell truly unique, however, is that his intent is for parents to get just as much out of the experience as their children. With vibrant and detailed illustrations provided by D. Sherene Offutt, parents and children alike will delight in discovering new games to play and new “easter eggs” to find in many a subsequent reading. This alone will make reaching for this book again and again a joy for everyone involved.

But, what really makes Maxwell stand out for the adults involved is the fact that they are really getting two books in one. Separately bound in a back pocket of the children’s book is “The Chain of Life: The True Story of Maxwell the Spider & An Invitation to a Time Capsule.” In this 16-page short story we find out that Maxwell was indeed a real, wild spider who somehow forged a relationship with our author, and this true story of wonder was the inspiration for the children’s book.

“I thought about writing the short story just as it happened,” explains Gredone, “but then I thought to myself, ‘No, this is just too fantastical. No one will believe it!’ And that is when I decided I should make it into a children’s book. I’d really had no intention, ever, of writing a children’s book, but then I was given this truly extraordinary gift of an experience and felt compelled to return the favor in its telling.”

In addition to this inspiring, true story behind the magic of the children’s book, there is yet another gem awaiting parents. The separately bound story in the back pocket is meant to be removed and serve as a “time capsule”; a means for parents to write a letter of sorts to their children in the present, and give them years later when they are old enough to understand the more adult tale being told in this “story behind the story.” There are several blank pages at the end of Maxwell’s origin story where parents are encouraged to write, or draw or post photos for their children. The passage of time does the rest.

“Well, once I decided to write the children’s book, I promised myself that I would make it different, find a way to make it stand out,” says Gredone, “and since the power of imagination and wonder are something that we should never lose, even as adults, I decided that Maxwell should have something for everyone. The time capsule seemed like the perfect addition; ideally serving as a kind of generational love letter, passed down over and over again as the chain of life moves on. Children becoming adults and finding that one of their more wondrous books from childhood was actually based on a true story as experienced by an adult.”

“Maxwell” is truly a children’s book for all ages and stakes its claim as a bold innovator in the genre. Visit the website maxwellthespider.com for more family fun and purchasing options.