Every Kid Deserves to Be the Hero of Their Own Story

I tell stories. That's what I do. I've done it my whole life. I helped art schools teach hundreds of thousands of artists. We've worked with games, movies, animations. My team at Sherly? They come from DreamWorks, Disney, Sony. Stories shaped me. They made me who I am.

Here's the thing. Stories are the most powerful tool humans have ever made. Before we could write, we painted on cave walls. Before schools, we passed wisdom through tales around a fire. Every culture. Every tradition. Every lesson worth keeping. They all ride on the back of a story.

But the story that changed me? It didn't happen in a studio. It didn't happen in a boardroom. It happened in my living room. On a plain, normal night.

I picked The Little Mermaid. Ariel. A classic. I told it from memory. Hit the big moments. Then I did something small. Without thinking, I put my daughters into the story.

They weren't just listening to Ariel's tale. They were in it. They swam through the ocean. They made the brave choice. They were the heroes.

Their eyes lit up like stars.

Five seconds. Maybe less. But everything shifted. I wasn't just keeping my kids busy before bed. I watched them see themselves as brave. As kind. As able to do big things. And I learned something I'll never forget:

Nothing is more powerful than seeing yourself as the hero.

Think about it. You have a favorite movie. A favorite character. Ask any adult, and a name pops up fast. Maybe you like their courage. Maybe you see yourself in them. We never outgrow that need.

Now picture a child. When kids see themselves in a story — as the main character — something clicks. It's called the mirror effect. They start to believe they can be brave. They can be kind. The story stops being fun. It becomes who they are.

And that was the beginning of Sherly.

That magic I felt? It shouldn't belong to me. Not just because I can draw. Not just because I write stories for a living. Most parents don't do that. But every parent has something to say. A lesson. A value. A way of seeing the world.

That's the gap Sherly was built to fill.

A thought became a question. The question became an obsession. The obsession became a company.

Sherly makes books where your child is the story. Not just in it. The star of it. We take your photos and turn them into art. Real art. The kind you'd frame. The story? It comes from you. First day of school. New baby brother. The values you want them to carry. We build it around their world.

You're the director. Bring us ideas. Rough ones. Half-formed ones. Notes scribbled on a napkin. Doesn't matter. We take them and build a real book. A story worth keeping. Your child will read it over and over. And every time they do, they see themselves as the hero.

We built the engine that makes your books. Real artists. Real writers. Real parents. We shaped it. We guide it. We care about every page. Why? Because a children's book isn't content. It's a gift. A message. It tells your child: You matter. You're brave. You can do anything.

Sherly started simple. A tired dad. A living room floor. Two girls who wanted a story. I didn't know it then, but my whole career led to that moment. Every kid deserves to be the hero of their own story. That's why Sherly exists.