Local author celebrates launch of her debut children’s book in Highland Park

Have you ever read a children’s book inspired by the real trials and triumphs of twins? Well, now you can with the debut children’s book “Ollie and Sam: Not Two of a Kind” by Deerfield-based author Tabitha Flax, set for official release on Sunday, Nov. 10.

The book’s vibrant pages tell the story of identical twins Ollie and Sam, who, while alike, are not actually identical. For example, one is extroverted and loves soccer. The other is introverted and more artistic.

As they navigate the day-to-day of growing up, they explore their identities outside twinhood.

“The journey they go on is really to stand out as individuals,” Flax told The Record. “Through the story, I wanted to show how siblings, especially twins, can really celebrate what makes each of them unique while still having that special bond.”

From 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m, on Sunday, Flax will host a launch event for her debut book in conjunction with Secret World Books at 1174 2nd St. in Highland Park.

All are welcome to attend, and Flax is already expecting approximately 70 people, including eight of nine sets of twins. She told The Record that she wants it to be an event where twin families can come together and celebrate their uniqueness and bond.

Though normally closed on Sundays, neighboring Curt’s Cafe will open for the event. There will be games like twin trivia.

The journey of twins is one Flax has both been a part of and borne witness to with her own identical twin boys who are now almost 9 years old.

When her twins started kindergarten, Flax noticed that there were not really any resources in which they could see themselves represented.

She said they came home from school not truly understanding “the why” behind some elements of their school experiences, and a trio of scenarios helped propel her to take matters into her own hands by taking pen to paper (or, these days, hands to keyboard) with her first book.

The foremost among those motivating experiences was that her children were placed in separate classes, and Flax struggled to find tools that could help explain why. Secondly, as a consequence of the former, they began getting invites to separate birthday parties (i.e., one would be invited and the other would not). Thirdly and most recently, they began to sign up for more extracurricular activities, but one may try out and make a team while the other may not.

With this confluence of factors and continued evolution of her children’s experiences, Flax has near-endless material to make sure that more kids can see themselves represented in books.

That’s why the story doesn’t stop with “Two of a Kind”; it is slated to be the first in a series that explores themes like jealousy, twin rivalry, problem-solving and individuality.

Her next book, Flax said, will touch upon neurodiversity and explore what it means to be neurodivergent, such as how some children can think a bit differently and process information distinctly from others.

It took some 24 months from the conception of the idea for the first book to its fruition; it took time, Flax said, “to strike the right balance between depth and simplicity.”

Also within that time frame, it took 18 months to pinpoint an illustrator who could understand and resonate with Flax’s vision, which she ultimately found in Jezreel S. Cuevas.

At home, Flax’s twins have been excitedly providing her with feedback, ceasing the opportunity to help shape the stories that are meant for twins like themselves.

Others such as therapists, doctors and pediatricians have supported and praised Flax for her undertaking, telling her that books can help children with their development as they can see themselves reflected in and even picture themselves working through the moments or scenarios in books.

“I have some mom friends who’re twin parents as well and are also teachers in the community, and they said, ‘You have no idea how much seeing yourself in a book means to a child,’” Flax shared. “There is one character in the book [who wears] glasses, and one of the comments from the twin parents is that it just made the daughter’s day to see a girl in a book wearing glasses, so it’s about the representation, too.”

While Flax has experience writing professionally in a business sector, she does not have a background in creative writing.

Over the past 23 years, she has focused on education for cybersecurity and IT professionals from their early careers through their career development. She has also prioritized diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to ensure individuals from underrepresented communities have access to training and careers in cybersecurity.

Flax has dabbled, too, in art therapy for her son, who was diagnosed with ADHD and is twice-exceptional, meaning he requires a somewhat varied level of support than other children.

She is a board member of the Chicago Gifted Community Center, a nonprofit that supports twice-exceptional children and their families.

In the future, Flax said she hopes to branch out in her writing and address topics in addition to twinhood that are not well-represented in children’s literature.

“I want twins to know that they are special as individuals,” Flax said. “Their very unique traits are worth celebrating. And for non-twins, too, I hope they can see a lesson in friendship and understanding and the importance of seeing people for who they truly are and not just how they appear.”

Interested readers can currently order the paperback version of the book on Amazon and pre-order the hard cover on Ingram Spark’s website.

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