English – BookBildr

You know how BookBildr helps families create books together? We’ve been thinking about the next step—helping your kids become better writers, not just makers of books.

So we built Writeorium.

What It Is

Writeorium provides writing feedback for students in grades 5-12. Not the kind of feedback that rewrites their work for them (looking at you, ChatGPT). Real critique that teaches critical thinking.

Every piece of writing gets feedback calibrated to:

Grade level (5th-6th, 7th-8th, or 9th-12th)
Writing type (narrative, argumentative, research, poetry, and more)

Your 5th grader gets warm, encouraging guidance with concrete next steps. Your high schooler gets college-prep rigor with advanced terminology and intellectual challenge.

Why We Built It

We kept seeing the same problem: students were getting good grades on writing assignments that weren’t actually good writing.

Teachers use rubrics that check for pieces. Thesis? ✓ Evidence? ✓ Counterargument? ✓—and give high scores when all the boxes are checked. But having the pieces doesn’t mean they work.

It’s like building a car out of cardboard. You have an engine, wheels, and a steering wheel. But none of it actually functions.

Writeorium measures quality, not just presence.

Does your thesis actually make a defensible argument? Does your evidence prove what you claim it proves? Are you engaging with the strongest counterargument or just knocking down a weak one?

These are the questions rubrics can’t ask—but good writing teachers do.

How It Works

Your student uploads their writing (up to 2,000 words)
They select their grade level and writing type
Within minutes, they get detailed feedback
They download a PDF or read it online

No rewriting. No grades. Just clear guidance on what’s working and what needs work.

What Makes It Different

It’s not ChatGPT. ChatGPT rewrites homework. Writeorium teaches students to revise their own work.

It’s not generic. Every writing type has different criteria. Poetry feedback looks nothing like argumentative essay feedback.

It’s calibrated. A 6th grader and a 12th grader submitting the same piece get completely different feedback — because they’re at different developmental stages.

Launch Special

Register before May 15, 2026 and we’ll add 10 free critiques to your account (a $24 value). No credit card required.

After that, it’s $2.40-3 per critique with 2 free trials for new users.

Try Writeorium →

Who It’s For

Homeschool families who don’t have a trained writing teacher at home

Parents helping with homework whose kids are getting A’s but still struggling with actual writing

Students who want to improve, not just get good grades

A Real Example

We tested Writeorium with real student writing. One 7th grader submitted a persuasive essay about whether a teenager should sail solo around the world. Her teacher gave it a 4 out of 4 — the highest score.

Here’s what her teacher said: “Has thesis, evidence, and counterargument. Thoroughly supported.”

Here’s what Writeorium said: “Your evidence doesn’t actually prove your claims. You assert that the family sent their daughter for fame and money, but pursuing media opportunities after a disaster doesn’t prove motive before it. That’s a logical leap.”

The teacher measured whether the pieces were there. Writeorium measured whether they worked.

Both kinds of feedback matter. But only one teaches students to think.

Try It

We’re keeping it simple: pay per critique, no subscription. Use it when you need it.

Launch special ends May 15. Register now and get 10 free critiques.

Check it out →

Some books teach. Some books delight. The best ones do both — and that’s exactly what Wendy Chen, MD, set out to create with her STEM Is a Blast! series.

About the Series

STEM Is a Blast! is a growing collection of rhyming picture books designed to introduce young readers to science, technology, engineering, and math. Each book takes a foundational subject and brings it to life through catchy rhymes, rhythm, and colorful illustrations — making complex concepts accessible and genuinely fun for early learners.

The books are built for read-aloud time at home or in the classroom. The rhyming format encourages participation, and the repetition helps reinforce key ideas in a way that sticks.

The Books

The series currently has two titles, both available in paperback and hardcover on Amazon and all major retailers.

Math Is a Blast: Rhymes for Learning Fast takes young readers on a tour of mathematics — from numbers, fractions, and PEMDAS to geometry, coordinates, and the Pythagorean theorem. Each concept is presented through a simple, memorable rhyme paired with a bright illustration, building confidence and curiosity page by page. The book closes with a nod to what’s ahead — algebra, statistics, calculus — making math feel not like a wall to climb but a road to explore. It was dedicated by the author to her daughters Michelle and Emma, whose love of reading and rhyme inspired the whole project.

Physics Is a Blast: Rhymes for Learning Fast follows the same approach, guiding young readers through force, energy, and electricity with the same playful rhythm and visual storytelling. Early physics becomes an adventure rather than an intimidating subject.

Both books are illustrated by Jhunny Moralde, whose vibrant, character-filled artwork brings Wendy’s rhymes to life on every page.

About the Author

Wendy Chen, MD, is a physician, mom, and passionate STEM educator who believes learning should be fun, engaging, and joyful. Inspired by her own daughters’ love of reading, she created the STEM Is a Blast! series to help young readers build a strong early foundation in science and math. By blending real concepts with rhythm and playful language, she hopes to spark curiosity and a lifelong love of learning in every child — one rhyme at a time.

Where to Find the Books

Both titles are available now on Amazon and all major book retailers in paperback and hardcover.

About the Publisher

The STEM Is a Blast! series is published by BookBildr Publishing. BookBildr works with independent authors to bring their stories to life — from editing and illustration to print and worldwide distribution. If you have a book idea, we’d love to help you make it a reality.

We’ve been working on making BookBildr accessible from any device, and we’re happy to announce that the BookBildr editor is now available directly from your mobile browser — no app download required.

Create Books Anywhere

Whether you’re on a phone or tablet, you can now open BookBildr in your browser and start creating. The mobile version gives you access to the full suite of tools you need to build and publish your book from start to finish — AI image generation, AI story generation, AI image editing, the full illustration library, text tools, and the ability to place orders, all on the go.

BookBildr mobile editor — BookBildr mobile

What’s Available on Mobile

The mobile editor is fully functional for the entire book creation workflow. You can start a new project, add and edit pages, write your story, generate and edit illustrations with AI, and submit your order — all from your phone or tablet. AI story generation is also available if you’d like a hand getting started.

Create Photo Books from Your Phone

We’ve also made uploading your own photos as seamless as possible on mobile. Creating a personalized photo book or adding your own images to a story is now straightforward — just tap to upload directly from your camera roll. No transferring files to a desktop first.

BookBildr mobile image upload — Upload your photos

A Few Things Still Work Best on Desktop

We want to be upfront about where the desktop still has the edge. Previewing your book in two-page spreads, the drawing canvas, and advanced text editing are currently desktop-only features. If your workflow depends on any of these, we recommend finishing up on a desktop or laptop.

For most users, the mobile version has everything you need to take a book from idea to order.

How to Get Started

Simply open bookbildr.com in your mobile browser and log in to your account, then go to My Books. No installation, no updates, no app store. Your existing projects are right there waiting for you.

Some of the best children’s stories begin in the most ordinary moments — a conversation, a small frustration, or a memory shared between generations. That’s exactly how My Favorite Pillow by Ewald DeCerney, illustrated by Daris Bleu, came to life.

The idea for the book began during a phone call between Ewald and his oldest grandson. The boy was feeling frustrated because his parents had asked him to give away several toys to charity before he could receive any new ones. Like many children, he found it hard to part with things he loved.

During the call, Ewald’s younger grandson could be heard in the background, energetically jumping around and making plenty of noise. Seeing how upset his older grandson was, Ewald tried to comfort him. He explained that giving things up can feel difficult, but sometimes it can lead to something positive.

To help illustrate the point, he began telling an impromptu story — the story that would eventually become My Favorite Pillow.

As the story unfolded, something unexpected happened. The room on the other end of the phone grew quiet. Both grandsons stopped what they were doing and listened closely from beginning to end. When the story was finished, they began asking questions and talking about it.

That moment stayed with Ewald.

If the story could capture his grandsons’ attention so completely, perhaps other children might enjoy it too. With that thought in mind, he decided to turn the story into a book.

The manuscript was written and shared with a few early readers, who responded positively. But there was still one missing piece — the right illustrator to bring the story to life visually. Without that, the project remained unfinished, sitting quietly on Ewald’s computer for nearly two years.

Everything changed when Ewald discovered the artwork of Daris Bleu through BookBildr. Daris’s illustration style perfectly matched the warmth and emotion of the story. With the right artistic partner finally found, My Favorite Pillow was able to move from idea to finished book.

Today, the story that began as a comforting conversation between a grandfather and his grandson is available for families everywhere to read and enjoy.

My Favorite Pillow tells a relatable story about a boy who must give up his beloved pillow because he is allergic to it — a situation many children can understand. Through the experience, the book explores themes of change, attachment, and discovering that letting go can sometimes lead to new and unexpected comforts.

At BookBildr, we love seeing stories like this come to life — stories that start in everyday moments and grow into books that can be shared with children around the world.

Fire Keepers is the first book in the Keepers series by Owen Sainsbury, a thoughtful set of stories that help children understand big feelings and give families shared language for navigating them together.

BookBildr was honored to help Owen bring this book to life. Our illustrator, Daris Bleu, beautifully captured the spirit of Owen’s story and the warmth of the firekeeping metaphor.

In this article, we’re going to share Owen’s story in his own words.

Every child has big feelings.

Some are quiet and easy to hold. Some are bright and joyful.
And some arrive suddenly, hot and fast, and overwhelming.

Anger is one of those feelings that can unsettle everyone in the room. It is louder. It moves furniture. It fills space.

Yet anger, in itself, is not wrong. Anger is energy. It is protection. It is often a sign that something matters deeply to a child, whether that is fairness, belonging, autonomy, or being heard. Like all emotions, it serves a purpose. The difficulty is not the feeling itself. The difficulty is that when anger overwhelms a child, it can spill out in ways that hurt. Sometimes it hurts others. Sometimes it hurts the child themselves.

Most children do not yet have language for what is happening inside them. When feelings have no language, they tend to be expressed maladaptively.

Over time, I have seen many children internalise their anger as evidence that something is wrong with them, that not “controlling” it makes them bad.

But anger is not something a child can simply switch off by willpower alone. Asking a child to control overwhelming anger by willpower alone is like asking them to hold back the sea with chopsticks. It misunderstands what is happening inside them. What these children are actually experiencing is a nervous system that has become overwhelmed and moved into survival mode, doing precisely what it was designed to do.

That is where the idea for Fire Keepers began.

The metaphor emerged during an ordinary conversation with my young son about big feelings. I described anger as a fire. Every person has a spark. Every person has a flame. A small fire warms and protects. A fire left untended can burn from within or spill outward and scorch the people around us. The image landed immediately. Fire was not bad. It was powerful. It needed tending.

From that moment, the story grew. Fire Keepers teaches children that their fire is meant to be there. The goal is not to extinguish it. If we stamp out a child’s fire completely, we risk dimming their aliveness, their agency, and their sense of self. Instead, the story introduces firekeeping. It is about noticing the sparks, understanding what fuels them, and learning the tools that steady the flame.

For adults, the book includes a short, practical framework. When emotions surge, a child’s thinking capacity narrows. Reasoning becomes harder. Perspective-taking fades. What looks like wilful behaviour is often a nervous system trying to stay safe. Understanding this does not excuse harmful behaviour, but it changes how we respond. It shifts the focus from punishment to guidance, and from shame to skill-building.

Stories can reach children in ways explanations often cannot. A metaphor gives a child something they can hold. It gives families shared language. A child can say, “My fire is getting big,” and a parent can respond, “Let’s tend it together.” The tone softens. The relationship stays intact.

My hope in writing this book was simply that children would find themselves in its pages. It has been quietly encouraging to see photographs of children reading it at night and holding onto the metaphor as part of their own language.

At its heart, Fire Keepers is about preserving dignity. It helps children understand that their feelings are valid, even when their actions need guidance. It gives families a steadier way to navigate difficult moments.

Anger is only one part of a child’s inner world. Regulation is essential, but it cannot stand alone. Children also need to learn how to disagree without losing each other. They struggle when they want something deeply and someone else wants something different. They struggle when they feel unheard. They struggle when being right begins to matter more than staying connected.

That is the focus of the next book in the series, Garden Keepers. If Fire Keepers is about tending the inner flame, Garden Keepers is about the developmental trust that allows a child to belong whilst being different, and to be different whilst still belonging. It explores how to hold your ground without losing connection, and how understanding must come before influence.

The Keepers stories were developed from clinical practice, but they belong in ordinary homes. They are not about fixing children. They are about giving them language for their inner world and giving the adults around them tools to respond with steadiness and care.

Every child carries a spark. With the right tending, it becomes warmth, light, and strength.

Fire Keepers is available on Amazon and other major book retailers. We are also currently working with Owen on the second book in the series, Garden Keepers.

Due to ongoing military actions in the Middle East, some international shipping services are currently unavailable. We are closely monitoring carrier updates and will restore affected shipping options as soon as services resume.

At this time, standard mail shipping is suspended for the following countries:

Israel
Jordan
Eritrea
Oman
Bahrain
Iraq
United Arab Emirates
Kuwait
Qatar

Customers ordering from these regions may still see alternative shipping methods available during checkout. Only the services currently supported by our carriers will appear in the cart.

We recommend reviewing the FedEx Service Alerts page for the most current information about regional shipping conditions.

BookBildr will continue to monitor the situation and update our shipping options as carrier services return to normal.

Thank you for your understanding.

At BookBildr, we believe in clarity and transparency, especially when it comes to pricing.

Over the past year, our publishing packages have expanded in depth, structure, and support. We’ve refined workflows, strengthened our illustrator network, broadened our printing network, and expanded to new markets.

Because of that growth, our publishing package pricing will be updated starting April 1. However, all current pricing will remain available through March 31.

If you’ve been considering publishing your book with BookBildr, this is the window to secure the existing rates.

What’s Changing

Beginning April 1:

Essentials will increase from $499 to $599
Self-Publisher will increase from $799 to $899
Picture Book Pro will increase from $899 to $999
Stellar will increase from $2,799 to $3,199 (standard illustrators) (an optional upgrade for premium illustrators will be available)

Ultimate 50 and Ultimate 100 remain unchanged

Why We’re Updating Pricing

This adjustment reflects the real scope of work behind every project: professional developmental and line editing, layout design with unlimited revisions, cover refinement, production management, distribution setup, illustrator coordination, technical compliance, and structured publishing guidance for authors who choose the Self-Publisher package.

We compensate our designers and illustrators fairly. We invest in production quality and print with a certified B Corp. And we provide deeply personal support rather than automated, template-only solutions.

What This Means for You

If you purchase a package before March 31, you lock in the current pricing even if your project timeline extends beyond that date.

After March 31, new pricing will apply to all new projects.

We are announcing this in advance to give authors time to plan.

If your manuscript is ready — or close — this is the moment to move forward under the current structure.

We look forward to working with you and bringing your books to life!

In The Jade Palace: Saving Mother Turtle, readers enter an enchanted coastal kingdom where two young princes discover they can read secret messages written by the ocean — messages invisible to everyone else. When the tide leaves behind a mysterious call for help, the brothers step beyond the safety of palace walls and into the wider world, where they must protect a mother turtle in danger. Along the way, they learn that true leadership is not about power, but about empathy, responsibility, and listening to those who cannot speak for themselves.

Featuring vibrant illustrations by Daris Bleu, this thoughtfully told fantasy blends adventure with environmental awareness and gentle moral reflection. Ideal for libraries and families alike, the book invites young readers to consider stewardship of nature, kindness, and courage in the face of uncertainty.

But The Jade Palace began long before it became a children’s book.

Author Lisabeth Donohue describes publishing a story as an act of vulnerability — sharing not only imagination, but lived experience. During some of the most difficult years of her life, navigating breast cancer alongside her mother, the Jade Palace became a deeply personal sanctuary. It was a place of meaning and stillness when real-world headlines felt overwhelming. The ocean, steady and constant, offered reassurance: no matter what happens in our world, the tide goes in, and the tide goes out.

Lisabeth first wrote about this sanctuary in handmade journals gifted by close friends. The words were reflective, private, and filled with hope. Last Christmas, she decided to shape those reflections into a story for her grandsons — a tale that honors family, brotherhood, mateship, and care for the world around us.

She describes the book as an act of Kintsugi — repairing brokenness with golden seams. In this case, those seams are golden words and golden pictures. The result is a story born from struggle, resilience, and love — one that seeks to offer young readers comfort, inspiration, and a reminder that even in difficult seasons, sanctuary can be found.

The Jade Palace: Saving Mother Turtle is available on Amazon and other major online retailers.

Author Sophia C. Jess will be hosting a series of special in-store events at select Barnes & Noble locations across Colorado in celebration of her heartwarming children’s book, Samson the Grumbly Dog Meets Lily.

Some dates have recently been rearranged. Below are the updated locations and event dates:

February 14

Barnes & Noble – Colorado Blvd
960 S Colorado Blvd
Denver, CO

March 21

Barnes & Noble – Denver West Village
14347 West Colfax Ave
Lakewood, CO

June 13

Barnes & Noble – Crossroad Commons (Boulder)
2999 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO

In Samson the Grumbly Dog Meets Lily, readers meet Samson, a Great Dane who seems to have a grumble for everything. He spends his days lying in the yard, growling at the world and avoiding fun—until Lily enters his life. Through Lily’s kindness and patience, Samson begins to discover that even the grumpiest heart can change.

This touching picture book explores friendship, empathy, and the simple ways connection can brighten even the gloomiest days. With warmth and gentle humor, Sophia C. Jess invites young readers to reflect on how kindness can transform both others—and ourselves.

Families are invited to attend these special events to meet the author, enjoy a reading, and celebrate a story that reminds us all of the joy found in friendship.

For event times and additional details, please contact your local Barnes & Noble store.

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon by following this link.

The unboxing video for Sy’s Journey: A Seed’s Search for a Place to Grow documents a simple but decisive moment in the life of a book: the point at which a long production process becomes a finished physical object.

The book, written by Dr. Stallar Lufrano, went through multiple revisions before reaching print.

From a scribbled idea in a notebook, to 19 drafts, to finding the perfect illustrator, to choosing sustainable printing and packaging, this little seed has had quite the journey of her own.

The story follows a seed searching for a place to grow, moving through different environments before finding where it belongs. The book was illustrated by Chloe Nyiri, a traditional watercolor artist from Hungary. Each illustration in the book is an original watercolor painting — a finished artwork rather than a digital composite. Nyiri works with natural-pigment watercolors, chosen for their environmentally responsible and non-toxic properties.

The production choices — text, illustration, materials, and printing — were considered together, not sequentially.

The unboxing captures the author and her children opening the first printed copies and seeing the completed book as a physical object.

Holding the finished book in my hands feels surreal. Every page, every brushstroke, every word is filled with courage, hope, and love for Sy and our planet.

Availability

Sy’s Journey: A Seed’s Search for a Place to Grow is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other major retailers in hardcover and softcover editions.

Sustainably printed copies can be ordered directly from the book’s website:
https://sysjourney.com/

Publishing information

The book was published through BookBildr Publishing.