• Age: 6 to 9
• Grade: 1 to 4
• Reading age: 6 to 9

An author and his hero embark on a genre-bending journey to find the right story.

The brave captain of a tiny spaceship is surrounded by flying saucers. Though the situation appears dire, he knows just what to do ... um, wait! The brave captain - ahem, boy - tells the author to stop the action: He's got it all wrong. This is not the boy's story. He belongs in a different story. The author considers this. Then he begins again, with a story about Cattle King Carl, the quickest cattle wrangler in the West ... No! Still not the boy's story? Hmm. Is he a dragon-slaying knight? No! A vampire's next victim? No! A boy going on a date? No! Will the author ever come up with the right story?

Multi-award-winning author Ryan Uytdewilligen employs a funny and unique take on metafiction and the literary technique of breaking the fourth wall to provide an easy-to-understand exploration of literary genres. The book also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process that highlights the value of perseverance and teamwork. The appealing graphic novel-style art by award-winning illustrator David Huyck features loads of visual interest and humorous details for readers to pore over. With each new story depicting a different genre, this book is an excellent resource for language arts lessons on literary genres. An author's note defines the genres and the differences between fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Ryan Uytdewilligen is a multi-award-winning author who enjoys writing in a variety of different genres, as well as for film and television. His novel for adults, The Cattle Driver, earned the 2019 Will Rogers Medallion for Best Western Short Fiction. This is his first children's book. Ryan lives in Coaldale, Alberta.

Ryan Uytdewilligen's profile page

David Huyck is an award-winning illustrator, as well as a printmaker, a painter and a sculptor. He is the illustrator of Manners Are Not for Monkeys, That One Spooky Night and Wingmaker, as well as If Kids Ruled the World, which won both the Blue Spruce Award and the Shining Willow Award. He lives with his family in Northfield, Minnesota.

David Huyck's profile page

Children will enjoy this book's silliness and how the story breaks the fourth wall, all while learning about the creativity, teamwork, and perseverance it takes to write a book.

Children's Literature

With superb pacing and laughter-inducing dialogue, This Is Not My Story is a playful, metafictional romp through the creative writing process

CM Magazine

A fun patchwork of stories that encourages out-of-the-box thinking.

Kirkus Reviews