CHILDREN’S EBOOKS history
Anne Garton began writing text and storybooks for primary and secondary students in 1993, selling her work through various publishing companies. In 2006, a friend suggested that she should sell her ebooks online so in 2007, CHILDREN’S EBOOKS began producing beautifully illustrated, classic children’s stories to be sold online. Anne wanted to produce a wide selection of children’s books for Kindle, iPads, tablets, phones or computers so that children could download the stories and read them anywhere, at any time.
Anne’s own children loved playing computer games, but she was concerned that this was limiting their reading ability, so Anne decided to develop ebooks instead of publishing her stories in paperback format. In this way, her children could still enjoy using their computers, but hopefully, develop a love of reading too.
Anne had plenty of children’s stories that she wanted to publish and began illustrating her own work, but it soon became apparent that she needed to enlist the help of far more talented artists. Her father, Derek Garton, was the first person she called. When Derek was a young man, he trained as a graphic artist and throughout his life, had continued to draw and produce paintings as a hobby.
All the illustrations Derek has produced for CHILDREN’S EBOOKS are drawn meticulously by hand using pen and watercolor paints, no computer graphics here! So his illustrations bring warmth and vibrance to Anne’s children’s stories.
Anne also knew an incredible young artist called Cailin Carrier, who was happy to get involved. Talented cartoonists, Leigh Brown and Rebecca Hughes soon followed, using their wonderful skills to bring Anne’s stories to life. You can read about these special people on our authors and illustrators page.
When the CHILDREN’S EBOOKS website was launched in 2007, there were just six ebooks for sale. Today, there are 17, with a further seven in various stages of development, and a whole host of people contributing to their production, including Anne’s husband, Greg, who has been a driving force behind the continuation of the CHILDREN’S EBOOKS brand.
In Anne’s words, “I write because I love to put the ideas and stories in my head onto paper. I hope that in some small way, they bring happiness to the people who read them. If my stories make just one person’s day a little brighter, then I’ve made the world a better place. What more could a writer ask for?’
We hope you enjoy CHILDREN’S EBOOKS.
