Imagine a new kind of children’s book. One that a child actually contributes to themselves as the story’s illustrator.

That is the vision behind Brydon Books, a new independent children's publishing company launched by Farnham locals Alli and Ed Brydon.

Alli and Ed want to inspire kids aged three to 12 to play, explore and create through a programme of interactive picture books, activity books, novelty and nonfiction.

To get their dream off the ground, they launched a one-month Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on February 29, to help fund the printing and initial distribution of their first series, Draw This Book. 

Draw This Book is a series of 32-page, hybrid story-activity books that contain a narrative tale, but – OOPS! – most of the pictures are missing!

Young readers must draw themselves as the main character and then set themselves off on an adventure throughout the pages.

The first two books in the series are Pirate Adventure and Animal Party, publishing this spring, with two more titles to follow in the autumn.

Founder Alli said: “One day, I had an idea to create a series of children’s books that are fully interactive with the reader, where the child is encouraged to collaborate and make their unique mark. 

“I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be cool to have a storybook that the reader could illustrate, helping the author tell the story through their own pictures?’ That thought became Draw This Book.

“Brydon Books, as a publishing company, grew from that one spark of an idea.”

Brydon Books’ Kickstarter campaign for Draw This Book offers some unique rewards in exchange for donations, including original, hand-drawn illustrations from award-winning and bestselling children’s book creators Rob Biddulph, Erika Meza, Flavia Z Drago, Fiona Woodcock, David Litchfield and more. 

Contribute to Alli and Ed’s Kickstarter campaign at https://tinyurl.com/draw-this-book