The Award-Winning Book That Resembles My Book (Possibly in a Very Chill and Normal Way)

One weeknight, about a year after I self-published my children’s book “Johnny’s Brand New Big Boy Bike,” I was in the kitchen making dinner. My wife Stephanie was in the other room reading through a big stack of library books with our boys (ages six and three at the time).

A few sentences into one of the books, my ears perked up. As she continued to read, my stomach turned. This sounded like my book. Only it wasn’t my book.

A little background: my book was self-published with the help of my friend Karen Sanchez, who illustrated it. This other book was put out by a major publisher.

Karen and I have one book credit to our names. The other book’s author and illustrator have published many titles in their illustrious careers.

Thanks to ordering and distribution on Amazon, my book is in the hands of dozens of family and friends who went online to purchase it. The other book is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor Book available at big box stores nationwide and has surely sold in the tens of thousands, if not more.

My book came out in January 2020. The other book came out in September 2020.

My book is about a little boy whose dad buys him a brand new bike. The other book is about a little boy whose mom buys him a brand new scooter.

Both books are about the boy’s very first ride.

In both books, the boy’s mind takes off in a flight of fancy.

In both books, the boys imagine they are racing against a field of competitors in front of a cheering crowd.

In both books, the boys fall hard and injure themselves.

In both books, a parent comes to the boy’s aid and helps him feel better.

I know very little about copyright law, but a friend of mine put me in touch with a couple of fantastic lawyers who let me know (1.) I’m in quite murky territory, and (2.) they’re unable to look into it further for me unless I’m prepared to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars in a potentially losing effort.

So, for the past two years, I have done nothing about it (except a bit of grousing and complaining). I chalk it up to experience. I remind myself it’s possible the author and illustrator have no idea my book exists.

And if they do know about my book, and if they perhaps borrowed from it, then the good news is that Karen and I are apparently capable of award-winning work.

I am moving on. I am working on my next children’s book. Karen is interested in illustrating it. We shopped around our first book some, but ultimately self-published because we were anxious to share our work with family and friends. Next time, I think we’ll aim a little higher.