Designing with Mary Poppins

What if I mentioned to you that “Mary Poppins” inspired me to write my next book. Serendipitous events have become a blessing in disguise for me during the lockdown period. First it was a random feather flying in the air that inspired me to start writing poems which resulted in my book “ a window for a home without walls”. and Now a serendipitous encounter with Mary Poppins is leading me to the next book. Let me explain:

I met Fredo and his wife Anje Vogt almost two years ago. Prior to the lockdown, Anje kept a very busy schedule as an in-home creativity facilitator for children. She goes from one house to another with her bag of art supplies, sensory experiences materials and literacy for children. Children eagerly wait for, “Mary Poppins” (the name given to her by her mother in recognition of the magic she brings into the lives of children) to come inspire their imagination and creativity.

I gifted my book of poems to Fredo and Anje almost a month ago. Last week I received a beautifully crafted greeting card from Anje which said, “I am inspired to write my own book of poems for children after reading your book”. I was not surprised that another creative person heard her own inner voice in the poems and was inspired to express her interpretations creatively. This pattern has become very clear and consistent over the past four months since the book was released. Musicians, healers, counsellors, doctors, designers, have found creative inspiration in the poems and have expressed it in their own way. I call it a ripple effect. But I never imagined a ripple coming back to its source.

Anje’s thank you card had an instant effect on me. I had an epiphany, “Oh my god!”, said I “I wrote my book for the next generation of adults, to get them to appreciate the value of curiosity, compassion and creativity. But here Anje is inviting me to write a book of poems for kids”. It was about midnight when this thought occurred to me. I pulled out my iPhone and started writing poems for kids. Without stopping I wrote 12 poems. Next day I wrote two more.

I put together a dummy book on my computer. I started questioning myself, “What age group should I target?”, “What should be the tone of voice?”, “What visual language would be age appropriate?”. I have never written anything for kids.

I tried thinking of my daughter from the time she was born and through all the stages of her development and I found the answer to my question. This book is meant to trigger a dialogue between a parent and child. It is meant for parents who treat their child as an adult and are willing to respect the fact that children are capable of having a conversation about simple yet profound facts of life with their parents. It is not meant to be read by children left alone with an ipad meant to serve as a baby sitter. I sent the first draft of my book to Anje, and she provided me detailed feedback.

I also remembered that several months ago I conducted a few interactive sessions with teachers of an elementary school in Richmond , CA on Design Thinking. I decided to approach the teachers again to seek their feedback. I decided to seek feedback from children of various age groups to understand what impact my poems have on their curiosity. I want to seek their feedback to make it a book that provokes an insightful conversation between the child and the parent.

So, my next book will be a book of poems about life, imagination and design co-created with children, teachers and Mary Poppins. Neither the design nor the images from the dummy depicted in this blog will be in the final design. The design will evolve through co-imagination.