Elijah and Crumpet
Elijah and Crumpet were first featured here on YOOCAN in May 2019 after their first Australian television appearance (link below). Since then they met Hugh Jackman, got on TV again and then started on their first book, 'Motivate Man'.
They have now run a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding project, which reached its funding goal in just 25 hours and then continued to smash stretch goals . You can view the campaign on the link below (and become a backer until 27th Dec 2019).
When we talk about creating a better, more inclusive future for our kids, we have to work on educating the younger generation. We have to plant seeds of knowledge and understanding which then become a natural part of the way they view disability. Literature is a great way of doing this and so here's the most recent chapter of their story ...
Who loves a good book?
'I love this book! Motivate Man celebrates children with diverse learning needs as capable and competent. It focuses on what they can do not what they can’t do. We need more books like this that highlight overcoming everyday challenges with humour and a sense of fun. Great messages for growing people!'
Sue Southey M.Ed., B.Ed.St., Dip Teach E.C. - Early Childhood Consultant / Winner NEiTA ASG Inspirational Teaching Award, State and Territory Award / Winner Down Syndrome Association of Qld Inspirational Teaching Award
How did we come up with the book idea?
When Elijah was interviewed for The Today Show about his YouTube channel, he said that when he grew up he wanted to be a Superhero or the Greatest Showman. A few months later, they kindly organised a meeting with Hugh Jackman, so all that remained was the Superhero bit ... no problem!
Dad came up with 'Motivate Man' as Elijah loves being in charge. Like father, like son, as Dad served as an Officer in the British Royal Marines before embarking on a successful career as a leader with a large international company. Being a leader is a role which is highly valued in society and Elijah has a natural ability of being able to get people to do things! At Scouts, for example, Elijah used to get the older kids doing star jumps! He knows all the motivating expressions and uses them at just the right time.
Motivate Man is the first in a series of fun books relating to Personal Development skills. Portraying Elijah as a capable and competent character in the book will influence how people then see him in real life. Add to this the fact that Elijah is a real-life YouTuber and we have the perfect recipe for engaging kids with learning valuable life skills. It's perfect for inclusion.
Kickstarter Crowdfunding
We were going to self-fund the book and then just wait for online sales to pay for subsequent books in the series. But after listening to many podcasts about mission-based crowdfunding, Dad realised that we should use this as an opportunity to raise the money and at the same time build our community further.
We have a growing community on Instagram, YouTube and Twitter and many of our supporters were keen to help our mission once we launched the Kickstarter project. We put the maximum timeframe of 60 days on this so that we could use the story to advocate (and to give our illustrator, fellow YouTuber Andy Marshall, time to get the illustrations done).
The more money we raise, the faster we will be able to start the next book. We have around 10 books planned for this Personal Development series. Then we have potentially a further 4 series at least that we could roll out, if the model is successful. That's 50 books featuring children with Down syndrome and other conditions. All designed to influence growing minds and normalise diversity.
Call to Action!
There are many ways you can do your bit to help:
We are running a free book giveaway, with 25 books being donated to a school or library of your choice. You get a free entry for:
1. Every dollar pledged on Kickstarter
2. If you sign up to our Email News-e-Letter (DM via Instagram or via Dad's Blog)
3. Follow Dad's Blog (link below)
4. Retweet a book tweet
5. Tag a friend on Instagram
6. Share on Facebook
Most of all, as we roll out our books, if you back us either as we run additional crowdfunding or just buy the books online for your family or to gift to others, that would be wonderful! Thank you :)
Useful Links
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elijahandcrumpet/elijah-and-crumpets-kids-book-motivate-man
(our campaign, ends 27th Dec 2019)
https://yoocanfind.com/Story/1877/elijah-and-crumpet
(Original YOOCAN story)
https://www.youtube.com/c/ElijahandCrumpet
(Where it all began – get notified first about new videos, often a week earlier than Instagram)
https://ElijahandCrumpet.WordPress.com
(Blog written by Dad as Dad!)
https://www.facebook.com/ElijahandCrumpetBooks/
(New page and Book Group with extra visuals)
https://www.instagram.com/elijahandcrumpet/
(for the person with only 15 seconds at a time!)
https://www.instagram.com/andycmarshall/
(Andy Marshall is the illustrator for our book series)
