A Yoto playing. Four kids laughing. And a mom who thought — someone should write a book about this. So she did.
We were all piled in the living room, listening to a book on Yoto. The kids were cracking up. Katie glanced around at them and thought — why isn't there a book like this about a kid like ours? She started writing that afternoon.
Our daughter Charlotte is Callie — spunky, opinionated, convinced she's right about everything, and surrounded by a family she loves fiercely even when they drive her crazy. It's a running joke that Katie blames everything on not drinking enough water. That had to be in the book. Katie is super crunchy. That had to be in too. And we love Jesus — but we can't stand preachy. So Callie doesn't preach. She just lives.
Katie started writing Callie Cae while pregnant with our youngest, Ava. Somewhere between co-op days and kitchen table school, between two boys and two girls, a press was born. Roots & Pages. Stories for homeschoolers, by homeschoolers — finally.
Every middle grade book puts kids in school hallways, cafeterias, and school buses. That's the assumed world of children's literature. Homeschool kids have been reading about a life that isn't theirs their whole lives — and nobody noticed that was worth fixing.
The best of what exists — and there are good options — either comes loaded with curriculum, or carries a political agenda that isn't for everyone. We wanted something different. Just a great story. About a kid who lives the life our kids live. No agenda. No lesson plan dressed up as fiction. Just Callie.
Callie Cae is book one. There will be more Callie books. And beyond Callie, we want Roots & Pages to become the home for stories written by homeschool families, about homeschool kids — a whole shelf that finally belongs to us. This is us starting the thing.