Recorded Live on December 8, 2020
Author Spotlight – Marquiste Boyce
Marquiste Boyce created Monster Kids Academy to help explore how to teach children simple life lessons in a fun manner. By artfully using beautiful illustrations and kooky experiences, children can explore magical worlds filled with themes such as being different, trying to fit in, and dealing with bullies.
In this episode, we honed in on childhood bullying.
Monster Kids Academy Series – https://amzn.to/2JSQuzA
Website – https://monsterkids.academy/
Key Takeaways
Shorts From The Episode
Podcast Transcript
[Introduction]
Aidyn, Aidyn’s Books: You’re listening to an Aidyn’s Books podcast.
[Intro Music]
Quinn Cummings, Host: Welcome to “Parenting & Bonding w/ Children’s Books. Each Tuesday in our Facebook community, we go live to chat with a children’s book author about the magic of books. Each book and author was chosen with you and your children in mind. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy this week’s Author Spotlight.
Quinn: This episode, we’re joined by the author who created the magic of “Monster Kids Academy.” Welcome, Marquiste Boyce.
Marquiste Boyce: Hello, everyone. And thank you very much. And thank you for having me, Quinn. Glad to be here today.
Quinn: Yes. I’m glad you’re here. So, how are you?
M. Boyce: I’m, doing great, doing pretty good. Can’t complain. It’s a pretty busy day so, you know, this is one of those things that at the end of the day, now I get a chance to just kinda just unwind doing some of my favorite stuff, and that’s just kinda…
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce… talking about, you know, books in this case, ’cause I am a huge book head, so you know…
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce… I get the opportunity to sit down with you guys to talk about books.
Quinn: Right? I can talk about books all day, so hopefully this doesn’t go on too long. We’re doing (inaudible) of all of your time. Don’t worry. So, author Marquiste Boyce, he created “Monster Kids Academy” to help explore how to teach children simple life lessons a fun manner. His book, it’s a series and it’s awesome. So, let’s get into the book. Tell us about your first book in the series, Marquiste.
M. Boyce: Yeah, awesome. Yeah. So, “Monster Kids Academy” was a book series that I created back in the beginning of, like, 2014, actually. And at the time, I was not an author by trade, at all. I’d never actually written anything before.
Quinn: Oh, wow.
M. Boyce: But, I had just at the time kinda heard about Amazon and their Kindle publishing, and you know, how you could actually, kinda create eBooks. So, I was actually just looking for, you know, additional streams of income. So, I was thinking, “Okay, maybe writing would be something that I would actually enjoy doing,” because I used to always, like, write short stories and actually (inaudible) like poetry back in the day.
Quinn: Okay.
M. Boyce: So, I kinda came up with the idea of “Monster Kids Academy” just off of the concept of, I was thinking about what was something that, you know, was unique to me, ’cause I kinda wanted to write for children, and something that was unique to me that I could probably talk about and expand on. And, and that for me was childhood bullying, because it was a topic that I was familiar with because I was always kinda, like, that nerd kid growing up. So…
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce… bullying was something that I kind of experienced a lot. And then, as I got older, the dynamics, you know, of course changed and my classmates and you know, so now it’s kinda, like, fun to talk about, you know, or maybe sometimes reminisce. I don’t even wanna use the term ‘fun’ but, you know, how they used to pick on me in high school. But, you know, I think, as I got older, I needed a way to vent.
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce: And for me, writing was that way to, you know, kinda, you know, vent.
Quinn: Got you. Thank you for that. So, of course I read your book. And like I said before, I completely loved it. Milo is the main character in this book, and it’s a middle-grade, middle-grade book, chapter book, and it’s, like, sci-fi based. That was really interesting. Milo’s a loveable and relatable character. For those of you that haven’t read it yet, he’s 11 years old. He’s also a soccer player, and that’s relatable, you know, to a lot of our kids who are in sports. And he just moved to a brand new place. He’s going a brand new school so, you know, that hits on topic number one our kids are experiencing right now, is a lot of change going on. And so, what I loved about the book is, like many middle-grade novels, is that we saw a huge shift in perspective for Milo, especially as he went through bullying, and he was dealing with being different and seeing friends around him, people around him that were different. So, who did you have in mind when you wrote the series?
M. Boyce: So, actually, I kinda had myself in mind. I kinda identify very strongly to the character of Milo, ’cause, as a kid, I was kinda in a similar situation, kinda, like, moving to a new area in a sense, or going to a different school, and then, you know, just trying to fit in.
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce: You know, trying to find those pockets of friends, trying to, you know, see who I can mesh with, things of that nature, and then, also, just missing home. And…
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce… you know, kinda of having that feeling. So, I think I just pulled a lot from that when I built Milo out.
Quinn: Okay. So, you told us how you came up with, like, the idea behind it. Were there particular, specific situations that you can think about in your life that inspired the book?
M. Boyce: Yes, definitely. So, each one of the books actually is kinda related to a specific event in my life.
Quinn: Okay.
M. Boyce: Or, and then I kinda tote the book around the story. So, the first one, it just kinda, like, you know, going to a new school and kinda trying to blend in. And you know, also, a lot of times when you go to new schools, many times the new kids always get picked on and bullied on.
Quinn: Mm-hmm.
M. Boyce: So, you know, a lot of the term of the book, for the first book was just kinda, like, trying to blend in. And then, you know, with the second book, you know, that was, you know, all about a big dance and I had a fear of dancing growing up. And I always wanted to go to dances, but I never would go because I couldn’t dance. And there was one particular incident where a friend of mine, when I was in, like, the seventh grade, he actually helped me learn how to dance, you know.
Quinn: Okay.
M. Boyce: So, he got these seventh graders, you know, teaching each other, you know, just showing me how to dance and whatnot, so that’s where that, the second book idea kinda came from.
Quinn: Okay.
M. Boyce: And, yep. And then the third one which really, it’s just about, you know, honesty and, you know, being honest when faced with difficult situations and difficult decisions that you may be faced with.
Quinn: Okay.
M. Boyce: And also coming clean about certain things as well when you know it doesn’t maybe suit you beneficially, as a kid.
Quinn: Got you. Thanks for sharing that. That’s interesting. I remember dancing, I went, I didn’t dance. I couldn’t dance and I didn’t, but I still went.
M. Boyce: Yeah, it took me a while to really, you know, get my nerve up to finally go. But, you know, I did and it was okay.
Quinn: Got you.
M. Boyce: I didn’t die.
Quinn: Yep. And you had a friend teach you.
M. Boyce: Yep.
Quinn: And that’s interesting because, in this book, one of my ultimate favorite characters is Vince, because, you know, Milo was being bullied, oftentimes, you know, in life, we have a guide or we have a friend that is just always there for us. And Vince really showed himself true in your book. And as soon as Vince came into, you know, into the scene, I knew that gonna be amazing because he was kind of appointed, right, to be his guide because he was new in school.
M. Boyce: Yeah.
Quinn: And he seemed to just, like, take that on, like, yeah, you know, like, this is my job to…
M. Boyce: Yeah, like, ah, I ain’t got nothing else better to do.
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce: I’m just gonna take the new kid under my wing, you know, so.
Quinn: Yeah, that was really good. We all want friends like that. So, you know, you told us about the guy in your life that taught you how to dance. What about in the first book with bullying, did you have a friend that kinda came to your aid?
M. Boyce: I did actually. I did have, you know, friends that we would actually kinda depend on each other. ‘Cause a lot of times when kids get bullied, sometimes they get bullied in packs, you know.
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce: So, it was a situation like that to where, you know, you have a friend and, you know, you know he’s in a situation of maybe getting bullied, you’re not gonna go let him be by himself.
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce: Or, you know, you guys are always gonna kinda hang out together. So, it was kinda that situation, kinda had, like, a little, you know, a click of people getting bullied, but also kinda having each other’s back.
Quinn: Mm-hmm. Good, good. So, the reason why we’re talking about bullying tonight is not only because of, you know, Marquiste’s book, is because it’s so relatable for a lot of us here, you know, in the group and that are watching. As we’re raising children, even if we have baby-babies or toddlers, it’s a fear that we have that our kids are gonna grow up and be bullied, they’re gonna be a bully, or they’re just be a bystander in a situation where somebody’s being bullied. And we want to know that the kid that we send, that we talk to in our home is also a good kid out in the world. So, if they see somebody being bullied, they know enough to be able to act on that.
M. Boyce: Yeah.
Quinn: And help to protect the person who’s bullied or at least, you know, go grab an adult. And just to give you guys, like, some information around bullying, I pulled some data from StopBullying.gov that shows that 20% of middle schoolers, because this book is, you know, for middle school kids, will be bullied in school. That’s one in five, that’s one in five, you know, children. So, when you think about that, and 40% of the time, it happens in the hallway, like, that’s a location that, you know, most bullying, you know, are 40% of it takes place, so there’s somebody around, right?
And if that’s our kid that’s in the situation, we want them to be able to have the word to express that that’s not right, or be able to be brave enough to go and get an adult and, you know, speak out against that kid that’s doing it. And so, books like Marquiste, that talk about bullying and talk about these situations, give our kids, you know, scenarios that they can relate to. And that’s why I really, really loved your book. And so, even, you know, most of our kids are virtual schooling, but cyber (inaudible) stats…
M. Boyce: Yes.
Quinn… cyber bullying stats are not far behind from, you know, the one in five, from in-person schooling. So, when you wrote this book, because it really resonated with me as I’m raising a six-year-old boy, what message were you hoping to send to parents and children with your book?
M. Boyce: Definitely, just raise good adults. And, you know, that kinda starts as a kid just kinda learning empathy and especially a lot with my last book, “Honesty is the Best Policy,” that, you know, just kinda be truthful to yourself, be truthful to your friends around you as well. And also, you know, don’t always feel like you have to try to fit in. It’s fine to be different. I think that’s the biggest thing that I wanted to take away from the book series is that it’s fine to be different. And that’s why the kids themselves are kinda based after monsters in the sense, you know, it’s kinda representation of going to a school where you may have different kids of different, you know, ethnicities.
Quinn: Hm-hmm.
M. Boyce: These kids are kinda, in their own case, different ethnicities ’cause they’re ghosts, they’re vampires and some of them hang together in clicks. But, it’s okay to, you know, like I said, be yourself and also…
Quinn: Yes.
M. Boyce… not try to be something that you’re not.
Quinn: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that’s really good. And that’s one, one thing I pick up in your book is the fact that they were monsters, and it was like a culture shock for him, for Milo, when he went to the new school. And I experienced that myself, you know, when I was in middle school. I went to, I went to one school, then I, you know, when I went to high school, it was like a whole different environment. And, you know, it’s trying to, like, find that place where you can fit in and discovering that it’s okay to be, you know, okay to be different. So, we talked about Vince a little bit, and we talked about how he was assigned be, like, Milo’s guide, right?
M. Boyce: Mm-hmm.
Quinn: And he took that job, like, really seriously, and that was good. Bystanders, as you guys know, are, play a really important role in bullying, just making sure that they step up. And we know that bullying, you know, in order to solve it or reduce it, it takes, like, a holistic approach, you know, teachers, parents, adults, students, to be able to step in and really, you know, tackle the problem head on.
M. Boyce: Mm-hmm.
Quinn: So, I love how in your book, at the end, not to give too much of it away, but the school stepped in. And it was such a hilarious scene when they did step in, and the way that the kids, like, tried to solve it themselves, but then…
M. Boyce: Mm-hmm.
Quinn… you know, they needed the adults to step in. I loved that as well. So, was your situation, like, similar? Did the school step in for you as well?
M. Boyce: Yeah, in a sense. This was kind of, like, related in around, a incident kinda happened in sixth grade, and at the time I had a really good relationship with one of my teachers or whatnot.
Quinn: Mm-hmm.
M. Boyce: So, you know, I was kinda in a, I don’t wanna say, use the word funning a lot of information to him, but, you know, I think that I had a good relationship with him where I wasn’t scared to actually talk about what was going on and how it was affecting my friends.
Quinn: Yeah. Yeah.
M. Boyce: And by because I wasn’t scared to talk to him, he was able to kinda, like, help ease the situation a little bit I felt. At least, that’s how I felt from my six-year-old brain, that things weren’t as bad. And also, you know, he was also kinda working behind the scenes, talking to our parents as well, trying to figure out why we weren’t meshing together.
Quinn: That’s great. Mm-hmm.
M. Boyce: So, he was trying to fix it, you know, without us being called, you know, snitches. Because that’s one of the worse things that, you know, for the “No bullying” campaign is to, you know, stop snitching mentality.
Quinn: Yeah.
M. Boyce: Because if, you know, if you don’t speak up, then somebody is gonna suffer for it. So, it’s one of those things that you definitely wanna be able to feel comfortable about speaking up as well, too. So, that’s why I feel like I felt really good about having that relationship with a teacher.
Quinn: Yeah, that’s really good, that relationship with the teacher and, you know, having the words to speak up. And you know, I have to say, you know, because this is a reading group and, you know, when we give kids the words through reading, you know, because we’re teaching them so many words and ways to express themselves, and I posted in the group today about that emotional, learning those words that express their emotions is really important, and them just being able to say it out loud. ‘Cause sometimes our kids, and we saw Milo in the book, when his dad asked how his day was and he wasn’t able to express it in that moment. You know. And you wonder why that was, was he afraid or did he just not know how to say it? And that’s why, you know, I feel that books and reading to our kids is so important, because it gives them the words that they need in order to do it.
M. Boyce: Mm-hmm.
Quinn: I’m so glad that teacher was there for you. Is he still, you know, ’cause sometimes, like, we’ll find our teachers from back in the day, like, on Facebook.
M. Boyce: Mm-hmm.
Quinn: Do you still have contact with him at all?
M. Boyce: Yeah, actually, I do. I’m actually in touch with a lot of…
Quinn: That’s cool.
M. Boyce… friends on Facebook. You know, the one thing about good with Facebook is I’ve been able to keep in touch with a lot of my teachers, ’cause, you know, they are the giants I’ve been able to learn from, so.
Quinn: Yeah. That’s awesome, you know. And we see teachers go above and beyond especially in this time, every day. So, it’s cool when we back up and, you know, go back and say, “Thank you for what you did.” So…
M. Boyce: Yeah, ’cause you learn from it, you know. You might not have noted at the time period, but as you got older and then when you’re also responsible for other people as well, you’re like, wow, okay, they did a lot.
Quinn: Yes, yes. So, is there anything else about your book that you want to share with us that maybe we missed in this conversation?
M. Boyce: Well, one thing is, I wanna say, definitely be on the look out because it’s actually been about six years since I published for this particular book series, but I do have a fourth one that I’m planning on to be coming out with next year. And I wanted to kinda revisit some topics that’s also been sensitive and we kinda touched on a little bit earlier.
Quinn: Mm-hmm.
M. Boyce: It’s about, you know, cyberbullying. So, kinda think “AOL Comes to Monster Kids Academy.”
Quinn: Got you. And I’ll put this resource back up for you guys again, because there’s some, on StopBullying.gov, just it gives some great resources for parents and also for you to talk to your kids, you know, about what’s going on. And if you think there’s something going on with your child, just having these resources just, like, laying around the house or on the fridge, if they don’t wanna talk to you, they can call and talk to somebody. You know what I mean? Just having somebody to talk to is excellent. And you touched on the cyberbully. I came across, a couple weeks ago on the FBI site, it was broken down by grades, and it gave, like, a quiz for kids to be able to practice safe surfing on the internet and be able to recognize, like, cyberbullying and who to reach out to for help. So, I’ll share that resource in the group.
I’ll check the comments to see if there’s any questions. Just let me see. Thank you all so much for joining tonight.
M. Boyce: Yep. And thanks again, Quinn, for having me. I definitely appreciated the cat.
Quinn: No problem. All right. “Middle schoolers will love the help from these books.” Yes, the heart behind the story. You know, you guys are gonna fall in love with Milo ’cause I did, and especially Vince. “We all want our kids to have a Vince in our lives.” Yes, important. So, where can we find your books?
M. Boyce: So, you can actually find them by going to the website. It’s MonsterKids.academy. And also, you can find them on Amazon by just searching for “Monster Kids Academy,” and you can see the series there as well.
Quinn: Yes.
M. Boyce: I have it currently in eBook form, but I also have physical copies of the book as well, and it will be on audio version next year.
Quinn: Wonderful. Thank you so much. Theresa said that it’s crazy and such a sad thing that kids deal with. So true. Yes, Theresa, for kids to be able to say it out loud. So, we answered all the questions. Thank you so much, everybody, for being here. We really appreciate you.
M. Boyce: Thank you.
Quinn: Thank you, Marquiste, for sharing some insight behind your book. Check it out. Go to Monster Kids, you know, Academy. I’ll put the link in the group so that you can check out his book, and you know, the whole series. I finished the first one and knew that I was excited for the second one to come, because he touches on more on differences, and he leads into a girl in the story who is dealing with some anxiety, right?
M. Boyce: Yes.
Quinn: At the end. Her name is Julie.
M. Boyce: Yeah, Julie.
Quinn: And she just wants to be invisible. So, you know, that’s a whole nother thing that we’re dealing with in our households right now, so that was great. Anything else, Marquiste?
M. Boyce: No, that’ll be all. Once again, I just wanna say thanks again for having me on. And like I said, be on the look out for the fourth book coming up soon. ‘Cause like I said, I ended the story on a cliffhanger and now I gotta send it on off on a good note.
Quinn: Yes, you gotta help us out. You can’t leaving us hanging. So, thank you so much, everybody, for joining us tonight. And thank you for being my first guest. This was so exciting. We hope you…
M. Boyce: Thank you.
Quinn: You’re welcome. And we hope y’all enjoy. And as Aidyn would say, who’s not here, “keep reading and I’ll catch you on the flip side.” Have a good night.
M. Boyce: Have a good night.
[Outro Music]
Marquiste Boyce: @sidehustlementor
Aidyn’s Books: @aidynsbooks
Created & Hosted by: Quinn Cummings
Transcript provided by: MomMom Linda
