Wantagh Fifth Grader's Book Goes National

It all began three years ago with a school project in second grade when Christopher Schmidt wrote and illustrated the original The Giant Foot book in hopes of getting it published at . 

Now Schmidt, 10, is in fifth grade and his book has reached far beyond his elementary school with his story now self-published at dreambigbooks.com. 

The book is about a giant foot that goes around New York City stomping everything in its path. In the story, there is a boy who is brave enough to stop the foot and save the Big Apple.

The original story had only taken Schmidt two school days to complete but publishing the book took him a couple of weeks. For the published book, Schmidt with the help of his mother Dawn Nagle illustrated color pictures.

"I encouraged Christopher to publish his book because I knew it would inspire him and other children to dream big and be daring," Nagle said. "By seeing that a 10-year old boy is a published author, a young reader may see themselves accomplishing something they previously thought was impossible. No matter what age you are, you can do something fantastic if you give it your all."

Schmidt’s book has been read in classrooms by teachers around the country in cities like Denver, Chicago and New York City, where the book’s setting is. The book has had plenty of positive feedback from students all over the country but especially in New York. At the end of the story there is a cliffhanger and children are asking for more.

Schmidt has plans to create additional books and to have the foot stomp around other cities. When The Giant Foot was read in Chicago, children there expressed a desire for a new version related to their own city," Schmidt said. The book was also recently on display at the Wantagh Elementary School library. 

When Schmidt is not publishing books he enjoys playing the trumpet and is on a flag football team. Schmidt said when he grows up he would like to create children's books for a living. 

For further information or to order The Giant Foot, visit the book's website  or www.dreambigbooks.com.