by Sarah Maizes 

Being creative is hard work.
Creativity takes time, focus, lots of head scratching, and always...a little inspiration.

Inspiration can come from anywhere – listening to your kid talk about their day, a trip to the market or the park, and more often then not, a really good book.

We love books here at Henson. Not just because of the stories we all read growing up that helped to shape us into the people we are today, but because of the exciting worlds books allow us to visit, and the characters we meet and want to get to know better!  Whether it’s a classic tale like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a comic book, a graphic novel, or a colorful picture book, we love how these characters inspire us to think new thoughts, dream big dreams and just look at the world from a whole new perspective.

So in honor of National Children’s Book week we thought we’d share some the children’s books and their characters that have inspired us – so much so that we’re making them into television shows! 

When I Grow Up
by Al (“Weird Al”) Yankovic, illustrated by Wes Hargis (HarperCollins)

The irrepressible “Weird Al” Yankovic introduces us to 8-year-old Billy, a boy with an unstoppable imagination, who ponders the timeless question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Frog and Toad Are Friends
by Arnold Lobel (HarperCollins)

This book series features two inseparable (and very different!) friends, celebrating what makes us different, what makes us the same, and the power of friendship. 

Dot.
by Randi Zuckerberg, illustrated by Joe Berger (HarperCollins)

Dot is a spunky and tech-savvy little girl who knows how to tap...to swipe...to share...not paying much attention to anything else, until one day when she sets off on an interactive adventure with the world surrounding her.  (The animated series Dot., produced by Industrial Brothers in association with The Jim Henson Company and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, is now available on Sprout and Hulu.)

Enchanted Sisters
by Elise Allen and Halle Stanford (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Sisters Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer are nature's royalty in this four-book series. When they're not keeping all of nature in balance, the girls play, imagine, and explore their way around their enchanted world.

Which Witch?
by Eva Ibbotson (Puffin Books)

In this classic tale from the 70’s, Handsome Arriman the Awful holds a contest to decide which witch he will marry. All of the local witches are excited and ready to compete with the worst of their black magic—all except Belladonna, who’s been hiding the secret that she’s really a white witch. (Currently in development as a feature film with Billy Crystal as a producer, writer and star.)

Sarah Maizes is our Vice President of Children’s Entertainment as well as an award-winning children’s book author herself. Her books On My Way to the Bath, On My Way to Bed, and On My Way to School (Bloomsbury Children’s Books) feature 6 year old Livi, an imaginative 6 year old who’s the queen of stalling techniques.