Celina Pastor, Local College Senior Team Up to Release New Easter Children’s Book

A Celina pastor and a local college senior are celebrating the release of a new children’s book centered on the Easter story.

Craig Flack, pastor of Celina First Church of God, and Kale Sudhoff of Celina recently joined WCSM Radio to talk about their collaboration and how the project came together.

Flack said the idea for the book began with a unique perspective on the Easter story.

He said he wanted to tell the story from the point of view of the stone rolled away from the tomb. While he felt confident in the writing side, he knew he needed someone with the artistic ability to bring the idea to life.

That person turned out to be Sudhoff, who attends Flack’s church and had already been writing and illustrating on his own.

Sudhoff said he started writing when he was 15 years old, even though he had long tried to avoid books because of a childhood stutter. He said the idea of becoming an author kept coming to him repeatedly, and he eventually began writing after feeling called to pursue it.

Years later, when Flack approached him about working together on a book with a Christ centered message, Sudhoff said everything seemed to line up.

The pair said the book was written in about a week, though the full publishing process took much longer after they decided to seek a traditional publisher rather than self publish it.

Their book was picked up by Kharis Publishing, a Christian publishing house, and is now available through major online retailers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart. Flack said the physical copy sells for $13.99 on Amazon and suggested it could make a good Easter basket gift.

Sudhoff, who has self published three children’s books before this project, also handled the illustrations. He said he especially wanted to do justice to the depiction of Jesus and worked hard to make the artwork meaningful for children.

Flack said the response to the book has been encouraging, and he and Sudhoff would be open to doing more projects together in the future if another idea comes along.

The two also said they will be part of the Grand Lake Literature Festival this Saturday at Tri Star from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Flack said more than 20 authors are expected to attend, and Sudhoff will lead a how to draw seminar during the event.

Sudhoff is currently a senior at Wright State University Lake Campus and is student teaching kindergarten in Van Wert as he works toward becoming an elementary school teacher.

Flack also used the interview to encourage families to read with their children, saying those moments matter and can go by quickly.