Gary Atkinson, an N.C. State alumnus, is holding a campaign to self-publish his first children’s book, Fundo’s Animal Alphabet, which is meant to teach children the alphabet. 

“I’ve been working on this project for less than a year but the character I created I had been working on for a few years,” Atkinson said. “I created the character, Fundo, during college. I was always drawing this character and didn’t know what I was going to use him for.”

Atkinson said the idea for the book came early in the year, and it took six months to come to fruition.

Atkinson said he wanted to create a way to teach children in a fun and creative way. Atkinson’s alphabet book is the first in what he hopes will be a series of books highlighting different subjects. 

Atkinson illustrated the book and co-wrote it with his girlfriend, Ayana Davis. Atkinson and Davis are holding a campaign through Indiegogo to raise the money they need to self-publish the book. 

“I wanted to make sure that I had all of the creative control of the project, and, from some simple research, I found that it was the best option for me,” Atkinson said. “Personally, I think a lot of children are visual learners, or at least I was.”

Atkinson said many children these days learn visually, so it’s important to offer visually striking media from which they can learn.

“As a designer and author, I find it fun to tell a story through pictures, and I think a lot of young people learn through a similar fashion, and even as they become adults they may still learn through visuals,” Atkinson said. “I thought there was a need for a children’s book that had interesting and captivating illustrations and also taught kids fundamental things to strengthen their vocabulary.” 

Atkinson said much of his inspiration to write a children’s book came from noticing other people his age having children — for instance, his sister just had a daughter — and wanting to provide opportunities for children to learn.

“Just doing research, I’ve found the importance of pre-school education,” Atkinson said. “Some of the things I’ve learned are that the first six years of a child’s life are very important because what kids are hearing in the house is important to their vocabulary before they are entering the school system. Starting children off early and strengthening their vocabulary will definitely be beneficial to them later on.” 

According to Atkinson, there are different rewards to those who want to donate to their campaign at Indiegogo. The various options available for those that want to donate are listed in detail at fundopress.com 

“The goal is $7,000,” Atkinson said. “All of that will go directly into printing the book, marketing efforts and go into making the book available to as many young kids as possible. It will be available in an e-book format as well. I want people to support this project because it will provide creative ways for children to learn and will get kids excited about learning new things.”