A very fruitful friendship for author

Writing and self-publishing a children’s book about the friendship between a monkey too scared to swing and a giraffe may suffice in the land of imagination, but Glendale resident Mindy Goldhammer creates bonds of her own outside the world of make-believe camaraderie.

Goldhammer recently completed her two-year project to write and self-publish her first children’s story, “Open Your Eyes,” about the friendship between Handoo, a vervet monkey, Hingles the giraffe, and a rhinoceros.

Friendship is a large part of the book and even the names of characters were crafted at lunch with a close friend, she said.

“Friendship is so much a part of this,” Goldhammer said. “When the giraffe helped the monkey [learn] how to swing, that’s when I came up with [the story].

In the process of creating “Open Your Eyes,” Goldhammer formed a special bond with her illustrator, whom she met as haphazardly as the giraffe and the vervet monkey did in her story.

Goldhammer stumbled upon design student and illustrator Samantha George, 18, while shopping at The Paper Rabbit in Montrose, where George works.

Goldhammer initially came to make fliers for an illustrator, but after seeing George letter a lunch box, she was smitten, she said.

“I can consider it a gift from the heavens how we met,” Goldhammer said. “When I decided to publish the book on my own, I was in a quandary because I needed someone to draw the pictures

I saw her lettering a lunch box

so I called her and looked at her [portfolio] and it was love at first sight.”

George said she was excited to work for Goldhammer, though the two had to do initial research to investigate which type of monkey would cohabit with a giraffe in the wild.

“I was happy to illustrate [“Open Your Eyes”] and inspired,” George said. “I didn’t have to work real hard to figure out how to make pictures. It just kind of lent itself to that because it’s just a really cute story.”

Working with Goldhammer was also stress-free, George added.

“She’s just really encouraging and warm and friendly,” she said. “It was a really easy experience and wasn’t stressful or anything.”

In addition to forming a bond with her illustrator, Goldhammer also managed to make friends with the Glendale community.

Marianne Atkinson, president of the Kenneth Village Merchants Assn., asked Goldhammer to read at the Arts and Crafts Festival on Aug. 18 and for her own children. She said she admires Goldhammer for writing and self-publishing her own book.

“I love the fact that she had written [the book] herself and published it herself and she was a local Glendale resident,” she said. “I thought she would be a perfect candidate for our art fair [and] I just like the way she interacted with my children when she read to them.”

Atkinson added that she sees Goldhammer as a role model for women in the community, especially those who have come to her expressing interest in writing children’s literature.

“She’s a great example of writing your own story and publishing it yourself and having successful results from it.” she said.

But 150 copies later, Goldhammer continues to make fundamental bonds by reading to her target audience — children.

She is involved with the L.A. organization Book Pals, sponsored by the Screen Actor’s Guild, which hosts readings at elementary schools and at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Goldhammer said she sees reading for a young audience as a part of the packaged deal of writing a children’s book.

“If you take the responsibility of putting something out there that children are going to read, you should put it out there,” she said. “I can’t imagine someone not wanting to do that . . . it’s the most rewarding thing to see the children’s reactions.”

Writing “Open Your Eyes” has been an invaluable experience and a sequel is a definite possibility, Goldhammer said.

“When I’m in that process of writing, it truly is healing,” she said.

“When I write [children’s stories] they take me into the land of fantasy, past make-believe where there are no rules, no boundaries. It’s an incredible place to be.”

To purchase a copy of her book, which is $10, e-mail her at mindyg224@hotmail.com.