David Gollinger received a gift from an-out-of-town friend when his first child was born — a board book about New York City.
“I’m not from New York,” he remembers thinking. “I wanted to teach my daughter what it means to be from Cleveland. I wanted to figure out how to make one of these.”
And that’s exactly what Gollinger did, even though he’s an accountant who, by his own admission, struggled with writing during school.
The result is “123 CLE,” a charming board book that teaches little ones to count using topics such as Lake Erie, pierogis, football and the Cleveland sign.
But the book is not quite a reality yet, as Gollinger estimates he needs $5,000 more to publish his prototype — an endeavor that begins today with the launch of his Kickstarter campaign preselling copies of the book for $15 (if the campaign is unsuccessful, you’re never charged.)
If he is successful, the book could be in the hands of local little ones as soon as this September. And Gollinger, who has created CLE Kids Books to self-publish, has plans for more Cleveland-themed kids books.
“123 CLE” features sweet lines such as:
Eight statues standing tall
for everyone to see
the Guardians of Traffic
watching over you and me.
And those lines come to life with illustrations by Gollinger’s 9-year-old niece, Greta Gollinger. “She’s always drawing,” Gollinger says. “We’re real proud of her.”
Gollinger has his own test market built in with 4-year-old daughter Ava and nearly 2-year-old William. So far, the book holds up as a regular bedtime choice.
“I put a lot of time effort and passion into it,” Gollinger says. “I really want to make something beautiful for Cleveland.”
