I have been inspired by many things but becoming a father is by far the most rewarding. As a child I remember my father working all the time and back home in Iran the usual father and son relationship was different than what it is here in the United States. Parents love their children, but they show it differently!
I was inspired by my son, Kian after we bought a Balloon and he accidentally let go. He was so heart broken. This is not unusual. It may not even be important to many people. But, we all have had that experience! My wife and I along with mother had to distract him with a game of playing with an imaginary Balloon. And he took to it, beautifully! There it is the power of imagination!
That experienced stayed with me for days and one night driving back (3 hour drive) I got the inspiration to write and illustrate a children’s book about A boy and his Red Balloon! I wanted to narrate it from the Balloon’s experience and teach the power of unconditional love. The culmination is my little book.
I have a passion for helping other as well. and Because if this, I am donating 10% of the proceeds to two causes that are near and dear to my heart. The first one is Make a Wish foundation because granting a wish to an ill child, sometimes terminally ill, is the least we can do to take away the pain and allow them to feel that unconditional love. Second, is Autism speaks because there are children and adults who are among us who see and deal with the world differently and they are geniuses but they are misunderstood becasue they don’t fit into our cookie-cutter mold. But they have unconditional love to give and all we need to do is to let them soar like a balloon.
When I was a child the memory of one book always stayed with me: “mahi siah koochooloo” by Samad Behrangi (The little Black Fish). It taught me to never give up. I owe the love for books to my mother who exposed me to the beautiful world of reading! That saved me from many hurdles in life and taught me to believe when it seemed so difficult to do so!
I hope we all teach our children the importance of believing.
Kaveh Ahangar Adel
