THE IMAGINATION SERIES
Helping young storytellers discover ideas, grow their imagination, and believe their stories are worth telling.
The Imagination Series
Explore The Imagination Series
The Imagination Series is a collection of creative writing books and workbooks designed to help children see that story ideas can begin almost anywhere — in memories, ordinary moments, questions, feelings, imagination, and the world around them.
With gentle guidance, engaging prompts, short stories, and hands-on activities, the series helps young writers move beyond the blank page and begin building confidence in their own ideas and voices.
Created for children and the parents, grandparents, teachers, homeschool families, and other adults who encourage them, the series is not about finding one “right” way to write. It is about helping children notice, wonder, imagine, and discover the stories already waiting inside them.
The Imagination Series
What Readers Can Expect from the Series
The Imagination Series is designed to help children see writing as something they can grow into, rather than something they have to get right from the beginning.
Readers can expect:
~ creative prompts that make it easier to get started
~ gentle guidance for turning ideas into stories
~ activities that encourage imagination, observation, and curiosity
~ examples that show how ordinary moments can become story ideas
~ encouragement to build confidence in their own voice
~ opportunities for children and adults to explore ideas together
~ a flexible approach that supports different learning and writing styles
At the heart of the series is one simple belief: children already have stories inside them — sometimes they just need help discovering where those stories begin.
The Imagination Series
Encouraging Young Writers
Children often need encouragement more than instruction when they are first learning to trust their own ideas. Giving them room to imagine, experiment, ask questions, and enjoy the writing process can help confidence grow. For more ideas on supporting children as writers, explore Reading Rockets’ creative writing resources.
Books in The Series
How Stories Grow with Sly
A creative writing workbook for young storytellers and the adults who support them. How Stories Grow with Sly helps children discover how ideas can begin, grow, and turn into stories through imagination, prompts, story-building activities, and gentle guidance from Sly. It is designed to build confidence while making the writing process feel approachable, creative, and fun.
The Stories Hiding Inside
Stories are often closer than we think. The Stories Hiding Inside helps children discover story ideas in ordinary days, memories, feelings, questions, and experiences they already know. Through short stories, prompts, and reflection, young writers are encouraged to notice the possibilities around them and begin seeing that their own lives can hold meaningful story seeds.
The Imagination Series
Who is This Series For
The Imagination Series is created for children who have stories inside them but may not always know how to begin.
It is especially suited to young writers who enjoy imagining, drawing, wondering, telling stories, and exploring ideas in their own way — including children who sometimes say, “I don’t know what to write.”
The series may be a good fit for:
- children approximately ages 7–12
- reluctant or hesitant writers
- children who enjoy creative prompts and hands-on activities
- young storytellers who need help turning ideas into words
- parents, grandparents, teachers, and homeschool families supporting creative writing
- adults looking for a gentle, encouraging approach to helping children build confidence
The books are designed to be flexible, so children can work through them independently or alongside an adult who helps them explore, talk through, and grow their ideas.
The Imagination Series
Why Debbie Created This Series
I created the Imagination Series because I have always believed that children have more ideas inside them than they sometimes realize.
Years ago, through The Muse Program, I saw how imagination, conversation, visualization, art, and creative prompts could help children move past the feeling of not knowing what to write. Often, the story was already there — in a memory, a question, an ordinary moment, or something they had imagined — they simply needed help noticing it.
I wanted to create books that would make writing feel less intimidating and more like discovery. Rather than giving children a rigid formula, the series encourages them to wonder, explore, play with ideas, and build confidence in their own voice.
These books are also created with the adults beside them in mind — parents, grandparents, teachers, and homeschool families who want to encourage creativity without taking over the story.
At the heart of the series is the same belief that has guided this work from the beginning: a child’s ideas matter, their imagination has value, and their stories are worth telling.
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