(Book images courtesy Chris Lambert)
ORLANDO | Author Chris Lambert created “The Blue Balloon Series” during a difficult period in his life. The series, books developed as a way to educate kids on themes like friendship, culture and equality, came about after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
“I was in the hospital and I wanted to leave something behind to the world for future generations. I’ve always wanted to write books, so I thought the easiest thing to do is to start writing children’s books,” Lambert says. “I developed some ideas of things I loved in my childhood and wanted to bring them to future generations.”
“The Blue Balloon Series” follows a little boy named Christopher, who Lambert says is based on a different version of himself. Christopher is a more adventurous child who is exposed to people of different backgrounds from all around the world.
“He gets to learn a whole bunch of life lessons, which I have learned throughout my life, but Christopher learns these lessons as a young child,” Lambert says.
In one book, Christopher travels to the seven continents and learns about different cultural celebrations and the value of friendship. In another, Christopher joins his friend Amanda, who has two moms, in his first Pride parade and learns about the meaning behind equality.
“When I was at that age, I didn’t have any books or resources at that time. I feel like these books can definitely help kids that are in the same category shine in a different aspect,” Lambert says.
The inspiration for the book series title came when Lambert was sitting in the Starbucks at Disney Springs and looked up to see the giant blue hot air balloon flying in the Orlando sky.
Lambert admits the process of creating these books passed the series title was a lot harder than he thought. Since he doesn’t have “artistic abilities,” he collaborated with a small team of artists from Bulgaria, where there were some communication and time zone complications.
“It’s a lot more than just writing and getting to put [books] out there. There are a lot of little details that add up. It’s been a fun process learning everything, it’s challenging, but it’s rewarding in the end,” Lambert says.
Along with the development process, Lambert says he has also had to process through the experience of negative comments and backlash over his books due to the topics covered in them.
“[The books] are actually helping children, teaching them life lessons. They’re nice stories about equality and diversity,” Lambert says. “So yeah, there’s been backlash, but you know the best thing is to just ignore it and move forward.”
Lambert says when he was a kid, he loved going to Barnes and Noble, picking up a book and being transported into a fantasy world. He hopes kids read his book and experience the same feelings, all while also learning something about the world.
“There’s always a place where you can pick up a book and be transported into a different universe. There’s always an escape from reality when you need it,” Lambert says. “I want kids to pick up these books and be transported, but also learn a life lesson along the way.”
“The Blue Balloon Series” currently has four books available — “The Blue Balloon,” “The Rainbow Balloon,” “The Christmas Balloon” and “Many Balloons Across the World” — with a Halloween-themed Balloon book in the works. The current books in “The Blue Balloon Series” are available to purchase online at TheBlueBalloonSeries.com.
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