“...Even though I can tell a story, writing it is completely different.” - Monroe S Tarver

by Roger Zotti

For Monroe S Tarver, the most difficult things about writing children’s books are “choosing the right words and knowing who you’re writing it for. Though I can tell a story, writing it is completely different.”

Monroe aimed his entrancing “Imagia and the Magic Pearls: Tales from the Mapmaker” (Wizarding World Press) at four to eight year olds. He explained that “parents are the ones who usually make the choice about buying the book. So, you have to appeal to them.  They’ll ask questions like, ‘What is the book going to teach my child? Is it easy for them to read? Something they’re going to be interested in?’”

Actually Monroe – with his captivating and vigorous illustrations – was an artist before he became a writer. “The writing came much later,” he said. “I would draw different characters that never had a big story behind them.” But when he was working for a company in Winston Salem, North Carolina, a co-worker saw his work and suggested he create a story for his characters.  “So, I wrote my first story and everybody loved it – and that’s when it all started.”

In “Imagia and the Magic Pearls,” the main character, Imagia, is an elf princess who’s black. As Monroe pointed out in a press release, “The recent controversy over Justine Labalestier’s cover reinforces that skin color still matters in publishing.” Justine’s book, “Liar,” is about a short-haired black female, but her publisher decided to put a long-haired, light-skinned female on the cover because he felt it would sell better. Justine disagreed but was overruled. Monroe said he and his publisher “both felt it was important to place my ethnic elf princess on the cover of my book. We are really going to be testing this.”

Imagia “spends most of her time studying,” Monroe said. “She’s getting ready to become a queen, doesn’t have any friends, and is instructed not to leave the palace.” But one day she discovers a tunnel, crawls through it, and finds herself outside the palace. Enter a “thinking fluttery” named Flutterwalk, who has blue hair and “two large purple antennas … Its wings were yellow and orange … soft and shimmery.” Soon her adventure with her new friend begins.

Later, we learn that Imagia and Flutterwalk “were being watched by the evil Queen Baddora” – who sees “the large pearl in the center of the crown on Imagia’s head.” The wicked Baddora exclaims that the pearl “will be mine!”  She knows it will grant her powers “greater than anyone else in the world.”

What the immensely talented Monroe S Tarver hopes readers take away from his book is the importance and power of imagination. “Today there are so many things going on in the world that kids don’t get a lot of time just to imagine,” he said.  When he was young, Monroe’s parents gave him time and encouragement to imagine, and he believes, “If parents give their kids encouragement to use their imaginations, there’s no telling what kids can do when they get older.”

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