By Kristin Holtz, Staff Writer

When Karen Thull and her husband, Matt, put their children to bed at night, it’s not uncommon to hear familiar bedtime requests.

“Can I have a drink of water?” “Will you read me another story?” “Will you leave the light on?”

Now, as the light go off, Thull’s kids have a companion in the form of a glowing storybook.

Thull and childhood friend, Natalie Finazzo of Carver, teamed up to create the first glow-in-the-dark children’s books.

The iLuminate Books is an interactive, glow-in-the-dark series that teaches habits and behaviors to help children grow and glow. The pair released its first book, “Humble Pie,” Oct. 15.

Thull, a freelance Web designer and marketing consultant from Shakopee, said the idea for the glow-in-the-dark books came one day while watching her husband make glow-in-the-dark fishing lures in the garage. As he explained how the paint makes the lure luminescent, Thull started formulating a children’s book idea.

With a 6-year-old daughter, Lauren, and 5-year-old twins, Hannah and Vincent, Thull said she understands the challenge parents face to teach children about virtues — traits all parents want their children to possess but are rather abstract to describe.Karen Thull of Shakopee

Thull came up with 10 virtues — humbleness, imagination, courage, patience, gratitude, tolerance, respect, tenacity, friendship and honesty. She wrote the first story, “The Very Brave Knight,” in 2006. It’s about a knight who is appropriately afraid of the dark and must be courageous to overcome his fear.

All of the books carry a similar theme.

“The brighter you shine inside, the brighter you shine outside,” Thull said.

Thull, who has written six of the 10 stories so far, said her favorite is “Rosie and the Pasta Garden,” which tells about a brother and sister who use their imaginations to bring their grandfather’s garden to life.

Illustrations for the books were created by Finazzo, a graphic designer and photographer.

Thull and Finazzo met as third-graders at Prairie View Elementary in Eden Prairie. Walking home from school, the classmates were determined that someday they would work together — or become Solid Gold Dancers.

“It’s probably a good thing we published a book; we’d never have been Solid Gold Dancers,” said Finazzo, a packaging engineer. “We’re probably better at signing books than up on stage dancing.”
Thull said Fizzano’s illustrations are bold and bright with big shapes of color.

“We just wanted it to be big, bold and bright,” Finazzo said of the whimsical illustrations. “I sort of wanted it so kids can sit down and try to draw the pictures themselves.”

The patent-pending, glow-in-the-dark books are like a nightlight, glowing from a bedside table or book shelf, Thull said. The glow charges by day to give off a natural, soft luminescent look.

Getting the glow just right was a challenge, Thull said. She worked with local printers who experimented with different paint, looking for something that would provide a glow without any toxins.

She found the right ink at a specialty ink company in Colorado. One of the most exciting moments of the process was crowding in a utility closet at Visions Printers in Brooklyn Park to see whether the cover and end pages really glowed.

Thull approached several large publishing houses and while they expressed interest, most were not willing to take a risk on a new concept. Therefore, she turned to Amber Skye Publishing of Eagan.

Amber Skye has been very supportive of the project since she pitched the idea in January, Thull said. They decided together that “Humble Pie” should be the first launch, coming out during the holiday season.

“Humble Pie” is a holiday story, Thull said, about a little girl named Nellie, a spoiled boaster who learns the value of humbleness.

“It’s important to be content whether you’re in need or have plenty, and that’s what she learned,” Thull said. “Humble Pie” is available on the www.iluminatebooks.com Web site.

The iLuminate Books series is more than just a story you read once, Thull said. The books come with a special glow pen that kids can use to color in the books. The invisible ink only shows up with a light at the end of the pen. There are also activity sheets online.

This winter, Thull will begin the editing process on the next book, “Little Mighty Bright,” a story of tenacity to be released sometime next summer.

The past two years have been a wonderful adventure for two childhood friends who dreamed of working together, Finazzo said.

Now, they look forward to releasing the rest of their iLuminate series to share “the message of glowing and growing” with children everywhere.

“We’re so excited about the fact that [“Humble Pie”] has been published and so excited to get it into kids’ hands,” Finazzo said. “We want this to be a book that children and parents sit down to read together.”

Kristin Holtz can be reached at (952) 345-6678 or kholtz@swpub.com.