My name is Kale Sudhoff. and I am 17 years old. I am a Junior at Celina High School in Celina Ohio. I am on the Track and Golf teams at school and I like to fish and draw in my spare time. I have always liked to draw and writing stories is a new skill of mine. I got an iPad for Christmas one year and I taught myself how to use the program Procreate to start making illustrations for a story that I had thought of. My favorite thing to draw is animals so I came up with the idea of Danny the Duck.
In my first book Danny the Duck Heads South Danny gets hurt on his way South for the Winter and is unable to fly. He then encounters several obstacles that he must overcome to get to his destination. I wanted to turn Danny the Duck into a series so people would connect with him and the new characters in each book. In my second book Danny and Kevin Conquer Camping I wanted to raise awareness for people with disabilities, specifically those who have lost limbs. Pigs are one of my favorite animals. so I decided to add Kevin the pig to this story. After Kevin goes through an unexpected farm accident he just isn’t himself anymore. Determined to make him feel better Danny takes Kevin camping. Danny wants to show him that no matter what happens Kevin will always have his friendship.
I never thought that I would be an author or write a book because I didn’t really like writing and English in school. One summer I was sitting in my yard and saw a flock of ducks fly over and the idea to write a story about Danny the Duck just came to me. I decided to take a chance and write it out creating the illustrations with my new iPad. I really wanted the story to rhyme so kids would learn the concept of rhyming while making the story memorable. I didn’t think that I would be able to get a book published at such a young age, but I decided to try and see what happened. I am so glad that I did because I was able to bring Danny to life for my readers.
I like to write mission books because it brings attention to people who are sometimes overlooked. It also teaches kids to be inclusive of others and how to be good friends. I want kids to know that they can’t be limited and can achieve anything they put their minds to. I would like to continue the Danny the Duck series teaching kids to never give up. I would like to introduce my readers to Danny’s friends throughout the series.
I really enjoy being an author and illustrator and would love to pursue it as a profession. I would love for my books to make a difference in the lives of those who read them. My dream would be to work for a publishing company where I can continue to do what I love. I will graduate from High School next year and I plan to go to college to further my education in writing and illustration design. I will continue to work on the Danny the Duck series in my free time.
