Storybook Dream Comes True for ULV Staffer

Story by the University of La Verne

Many have dreamt about putting their ideas down on paper and writing the next great children’s book, but few have followed through and made their dream a reality.

For years, Marcia Collum knew that she wanted to write a children’s book that was as fun and magical as “Peter Rabbit” or “Green Eggs and Ham,” and that could transport children to another world just with their imagination, but she was busy with her family and her career and she put her dream to the side.

That was until 2010 when she decided that she was going to go for it — no matter what it took. Collum, an administrative assistant at the University of La Verne, began to write and knew instantly who would illustrate her new book.

Matthew Del Castillo, Collum’s 27-year-old son, starting drawing when he was a toddler and he never stopped. Armed with art supplies and paper, he was able to bring his countless characters to life. Collum, whose eyes light up and whose face beams with pride when she talks about her son’s talent, knew that he would bring the characters in her book, “Max & Leo,” to life.

“As much as I loved picture books and as much as he loved to draw,” Collum said, “I knew I had an illustrator right there.”

Max and Leo came to life as two small green alien children who live at a local planetarium. It was an ideal partnership and before she knew it, the book was complete, illustrations and all. Collum’s dream was now a paperback book that children could hold in their hands and read while they imagined Max and Leo playing and exploring at the planetarium.

“I thought it would be nice to help my mom’s dream of making a children’s book come to life,” Matthew Del Castillo said.

Once the book was complete, Collum, who credits faculty and staff of the College of Education & Organizational Leadership with supporting her dream, worked diligently to get it published. After several attempts at finding a publisher, and many letters encouraging her, but politely turning down the book, she finally decided to self-publish.

Her book is now available on Amazon.com and has sold more than 40 copies in just a couple of months.

“It’s not something I did to get rich,” Collum said. “I hope that it sparks children’s imaginations the way books did when I was a kid, while also showing them the value of friendship. I also hope they like Max and Leo.”

Collum and Del Castillo have plans for more books and more adventures for Max and Leo and hope to publish again in the future. “It’s exciting and a bit surreal,” Del Castillo said. “I’m just happy that this idea actually became something real, something that people could hold in their hands and read again and again.”