Creative Thinking & Storytelling for ages 8–11

A finished book with their name on the coverThe stories in their head, made into their own bookThey love reading books. Now they write one.Eight weekends of making a book, not scrollingWeek 2: Nani’s stories. Week 8: their own book.

Sample cover: a fox holds a leaf over its head in the rain under a banyan tree.

8 weeksof weekend live sessions
Live online60–120 minutes a session
Ages 8–11up to 10 in a group
February 2027first batch

Apply now 2 minutes · no payment

You hear the fee on a 20-minute call, before you decide. Full refund within 7 days of the first session.

Your child writes and draws 8–12 illustrated pages, taught live by a children's illustrator or author. A panel of published authors and illustrators grades the book.Live sessions run 60–120 minutes. Most of the work between them happens off screen, writing and drawing 8–12 illustrated pages.In week 2 your child collects stories from grandparents and relatives, and can build the book on one. By week 8 it is 8–12 illustrated pages with their name on the cover.

Creative Thinking & Storytelling is an 8-week live online creative writing and storytelling course for ages 8–11 in which each child writes and draws an 8–12 page illustrated book with their name on the cover.

Creative Thinking & Storytelling at a glance

Ages: 8–11
Length: 8 weeks
Format: Live online. Weekend live sessions, with one week spent collecting family stories.
Each live session: 60–120 minutes
Group size: Up to 10 children in a group.
First batch: February 2027
Taught by: A children's illustrator or author.
Judged by: A panel of published authors and illustrators.
What they make: 8–12 illustrated pages with their name on the cover, and an author trailer.
AI use: Faculty show on screen how AI can help with sketching. No child has an AI account.

Why it matters

A child who can tell a story has an edge at every age

Children start stories all the time: in a notebook, at dinner, in their heads. Few finish one. Here your child plans, writes, draws and finishes a whole book.

At school
Children who love stories know more words
26%more words known at 14 by children who read for fun every day than by those who never do.
UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, 2017; nearly 11,000 UK teens (12% after other factors)
At home
Good for how they feel, not only for marks
Most of the work between sessions happens off screen.
3×as likely to have high mental wellbeing: children most engaged with reading and writing, against the least.
National Literacy Trust, 2018; 49,047 UK children aged 8–18
At 17
College applications ask for their story
Ashoka asks every applicant for three personal essays, and one more written on the spot in 30 minutes.
56%of US colleges give the application essay moderate or considerable weight.
NACAC admission survey, Fall 2023
With AI everywhere
AI can write a story. It can’t tell your child’s.
Planning a story, drafting it and fixing it after feedback is how a child learns to organise their own ideas. A chatbot can’t do that part for them.

For ages 8–11. Start at 9, and your child has eight years of practice before the first college essay.

Apply now 2 minutes · no payment

Sound familiar?

Signs your child is ready to make a book

Next to each is the week that works on it.

Draws all the time, and stops halfway through.Week 7 · Illustrate and revise
Tells long stories at dinner.Week 1 · Ideas
Loves Nani’s or Dadi’s stories about the old days.Week 2 · Family stories
Reads before bed and asks what happens next.Week 5 · Plot
Starts lots of things, finishes few.Week 8 · The book

Seen two or more?

Apply now 2 minutes · no payment

A sample book

Turn the pages of a book a nine‑year‑old could make

Drag a page by its edge, or tap it. The note under the book says which week made each part.

Cover illustration: a fox holds a leaf over its head in the rain under a banyan tree.

Tara Keeps the Rain

by Meera, age 9

Written and drawn by

Meera

age 9

For Paati, who told me about the year the rain came late.

Character sheet: the fox Tara drawn from the front, side and back, sitting with her leaf, and a close-up of her face.

Tara, a fox. Wants to cross the river. Fears thunder.

A map of Tara's village, with a river, a banyan tree, paddy fields, a pond and a little railway.

Banyan Bend

Tara’s house

Hill temple

Lotus pond

Tara was halfway across when the first drop fell. Then a hundred more.

The river woke up and began to roar.

“Hop, and don’t look down,” said the heron. “And hold on to that leaf.”

Story picture: Tara hops across stepping stones in the rain while a heron watches from the shallows.

About the author

Meera is 9. This book took eight weeks: a family story, a hero, a map, every page and this cover.

Sample book

The cover Week 8Drawn last, once they know what the story is about.

Put your child’s name on the cover

It stays on this page. We don’t save it or send it anywhere.

How much time does it take each week?

Weekend live sessions of 60–120 minutes, then one short task at home, mostly off screen. Each session has a short lesson, a live demo by the faculty and practice with feedback by name, for ages 8–11,up to 10 in a group. Eight weeks, one book.

Week 1: Ideas
Where stories come from. Idea games and a first character.
Week 2: Family stories
A week collecting stories from grandparents and relatives.
Week 3: Characters
What each character wants and fears. Character sheets.
Week 4: Worlds
A world map, a setting and the senses on the page.
Week 5: Plot
Beginning, middle and end, conflict, and a storyboard.
Week 6: Drafting
Writing the pages: voice and dialogue.
Week 7: Illustrate and revise
Illustrations, feedback and a second draft.
Week 8: The book
Final pages, the cover, and reading it aloud.

Final Review

8–12 illustrated pages with their name on the cover, and an author trailer.

Apply now 2 minutes · no payment

Who teaches Creative Thinking & Storytelling, and who judges?

Teaches every live session

A children's illustrator or author

Makes children’s books for a living, and is background-verified. Named here before the first batch. Each child also gets one-to-one time with a mentor.

Judges the Final Review

A panel of published authors and illustrators

Each child shows their finished book live to the panel, which grades it Distinction, Merit or Pass against the rubric you get in week one. You watch online.

Theirs to keep

Whatever the grade, the book is theirs.

An illustrated book of 8–12 pages with their name on the cover
An author trailer to share with family
Stories collected from grandparents and relatives
The habit of drafting, taking feedback and revising
A graded certificate: Distinction, Merit or Pass

Young Leaders

This certifies that

Meera

completed Creative Thinking & Storytelling and was graded

Distinction

at the Final Review, before a panel of published authors and illustrators

Sample certificate

For parents

You see how it is going, without sitting in

Your child works with the faculty. You still know what happened each week.

Week 1: The grading rubric, so you know the standard from the start.
Every Friday: A Progress Note on WhatsApp.
Within 48 hours: Written feedback on your child's work.
All along: A parents-only WhatsApp group with the team.
The last weekend: You watch the Final Review live, online.
Afterwards: The finished, illustrated book and the graded certificate, to keep.

Apply now 2 minutes · no payment

You hear the fee on a 20-minute call, before you decide. Full refund within 7 days of the first session.

Does my child use AI, and is it safe?

AI in this cohortFaculty show on screen how AI can help with sketching. No child has an AI account.

Two adults in every live session.
Faculty never message children privately.
Cameras encouraged, never required.
Sessions recorded for safety review, deleted within 90 days.
Minimal data, never sold.

How to join

Apply now. Pay only if it fits.

Nothing to pay to apply. A counsellor tells you the fee after your child’s profile, before you decide.

1
Apply
2 minutes
Your child’s age, your names and your WhatsApp number.
2
Strengths Profile
30 minutes, free
Your child does it now or at a time you pick. Not an IQ test.
3
Counsellor call
20 minutes
We go through the report, tell you the fee and any scholarship, and say plainly whether this cohort fits or another one does.
4
A seat
Pay by link only if you want it. Full refund within 7 days of the first session.

Top 10% of each age band earn a merit scholarship.

First batch February 2027 · Up to 10 in a group, all aged 8–11

Apply now 2 minutes · no payment

You hear the fee on a 20-minute call, before you decide. Full refund within 7 days of the first session.

Questions parents ask

How much does it cost?

Applying is free. A counsellor shares the fee on a 20-minute call after your child’s free Strengths Profile, before you decide. The top 10% of each age band earn a merit scholarship.

What if it isn’t right for my child?

Tell us within 7 days of the first session and we refund the full fee. That first week is your trial.

Will you keep calling me?

No. There is one call: the 20-minute session, at a time you pick. Everything else comes on WhatsApp, and if you say stop, we stop.

My child is only 8. Can they finish a book?

Yes, at their own level. The faculty plan the book with your child week by week, so the last page arrives in week 8. A picture book tells much of its story in pictures.

My child doesn’t like writing. Is this for them?

Often, yes. Week 1 is idea games and a character, not sentences. Drafting comes in week 6, once the story is planned, and a page may need only a line or two.

Do they need to be good at drawing?

No. They draw in their own style. A children’s illustrator or author teaches them to draw a character from every side and to map a world. Faculty also show on screen how AI can help with sketching.

Will it help with English marks at school?

We can’t promise marks. Your child will plan, draft, take feedback and write a second draft, which is what school composition asks for.

What if we miss a session?

Tell the counsellor before you join if you know a weekend won’t work; they will tell you plainly whether this batch suits you. Every child also has one-to-one time with a mentor, outside the group sessions.

What device do they need?

One that can join a live video call; a laptop or tablet shows the faculty’s drawings larger than a phone. Cameras are encouraged, never required. Most of the work between sessions happens off screen.

Who teaches?

A children's illustrator or author, who makes children’s books for a living and is background-verified. They are named here before the first batch. Each child also gets one-to-one time with a mentor.

How many children are in a group?

Up to 10 in a group, all aged 8–11.

Is it online?

Yes. The live sessions are online, at weekends, 60–120 minutes each. Most of the work between them happens off screen, and you watch the Final Review online.

Is AI used?

Faculty show on screen how AI can help with sketching. No child has an AI account.

Is there a certificate?

Yes. A panel of published authors and illustrators grades the book Distinction, Merit or Pass, against the rubric you get in week one. Whatever the grade, the book is theirs, with a graded certificate.

Another question? Ask us on WhatsApp