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by Katie Mazeika

Howdy Storystormers! I’m going to tell you a little about my childhood and hopefully it’ll help you come up with an idea for a story for the kid you used to be.

I had cancer and lost my eye when I was three. I was in and out of hospitals for years. At one point, when I was five, I spent five months in Cleveland Clinic and had several different surgeries. That summer was when I discovered “Madeline” by Ludwig Bemelmans.

I adored the titular character and wanted to be just like her. Not just because she was brave enough to “Pooh-Pooh” the tiger in the zoo. The scene that made Madeline my literary hero was right after she had her appendix removed. The next morning Miss Clavel brings the girls to see her and Madeline isn’t embarrassed by her new scar, she doesn’t hide it under her pajamas. No,  Madeline stands up on the bed and shows it off!

This was the first time I’d seen a hospital stay in a picture book. Madeline had surgery, like I had, she had scar too. For the first time I felt seen!

I wish I could say I walk out of that hospital with the confidence Madeline had when she on that bed and showed off her scar. But I was kid that hid behind sunglasses. Disfigurement has always been a common villain trope (from Bond villains to Disney characters). And disabled characters are often used as comic relief. I internalized this and wished I could just be “normal.” I was ashamed of my disability as a kid.

Fast forward to couple of years ago.  I was at a weekend kidlit retreat. A handful of authors and illustrators were sitting around sharing personal stories. I talked about an issue I’d dealt with since childhood. Strangers stare at me, but especially kids. Inevitably a parent steps in, whispers to stop, don’t stare, look somewhere else. And on some level, I had just accepted it. I understood that at some point, we were all taught not to acknowledge someone’s disability—“Pretend you don’t notice”, “Look away”. But that day something clicked. I thought back to my little kid self and realized that she experienced this every day. She heard the adults say to look away. And she assumed there must be something wrong with having one eye, with being different. And my heart broke.

That’s when I got the idea that became MAYBE JUST ASK ME!

By the the car to ride to the airport that Sunday afternoon I had the first draft of MAYBE JUST ASK ME! In my head. I knew the story arc, I had a beginning, middle and end. Before I boarded the plane home I had shared it with my agent. She was as passionate about it as I was. She agreed that this was a story I needed to tell, a picture book that needed to be made.

MAYBE JUST ASK ME! is the book I needed as a kid. The main character, Mazie, does what I wished I could do. She bulldozes through the discomfort and speaks up. She doesn’t feel ashamed and try to hide her disability. She doesn’t stay quiet when strangers look away, pretend not to see her. She speaks up and tells her classmates “Maybe just ask me!”  She has some of Madeline’s moxie.

MAYBE JUST ASK ME! is the book I wish I had as a kid. It’s the book I needed as a kid. I think we all have those stories in use-it’s a matter of digging deep and finding them. So, here’s my how-to.

• Make a list of the books did you loved as a child. The ones you came back to again and again and still hold a special place in your heart.
• Go through the list one by one and ask yourself why that book was so special to you? What piece of you did each book on your list speak to?
• Ask what they missed? What did you need to hear when you were a child that wasn’t in any picture book?

Use this to create a story for your child self. Write the picture book you wish you’d had and create the main character you wished you could be. Maybe it’ll be some child’s Madeline!

Katie Mazeika is an award-winning author and illustrator who can’t imagine a better job than making books. She loves creating stories based on real people and events. Katie strongly believes all children should see themselves in books and is passionate about highlighting disabled voices in her work. She hopes her work as a creator and advocate creates a space to openly discuss disability and neurodiversity. Katie does this through presentations, panels, consultations, and workshops for educators, kidlit creators, publishers, and young readers through Highlights, SCBWI, and NCTE. 

Katie is the author and illustrator of the nonfiction picture books BEULAH HAS A HUNCH! (Simon & Schuster) and ANNETTE FEELS FREE (Simon & Schuster). Her fiction debut, MAYBE JUST ASK ME! (Simon & Schuster), comes out April 22, 2025. Katie  illustrated three board books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul: Babies series (Charlesbridge) and Is That the Bus? by Libby Koppanen (Charlesbridge), among other books.

When she’s not drawing, writing, or visiting schools and libraries, Katie likes to spend her time gardening and reading other people’s books. Katie currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio. You can see more of Katie’s work at KatieMazeika.com or follow her on Instagram @kdmazart or Blusesky @kdmaz.

Katie Mazeika is giving away a signed copy of MAYBE JUST ASK ME! with SWAG and an AMA to one lucky winner.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2025 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.