Jodi Scheve, a Greenwood Community High School graduate and current Martinsville resident, holds a copy of her latest children’s book, “The Magic Cardinal.” This is Scheve’s sixth book, and focuses on teaching kids how to build confidence and overcome bullying.
RYAN TRARES | DAILY JOURNAL
Cardinal after cardinal kept appearing, as if by magic.
Jodi Scheve wondered if it was a sign. The Martinsville resident and children’s author had been pondering a way to tell a story about overcoming bullying and relying on the power of kindness. But she wasn’t sure the structure to build that message around.
A topic as serious as bullying could not be taken lightly. At the same time, Scheve wanted to infuse her book with a sense of magic. Then she noticed the cardinals.
“With the way that society is now with bullies, I wanted to write a book to help kids dealing with that. I kept seeing cardinals everywhere, and it all came together with the bully story and the cardinals,” she said.
The result is “The Magic Cardinal,” Scheve’s sixth children’s book that was released in early August. The book is about helping a child who is being bullied, showing the true meaning of kindness with a fun fable twist at the end.
With the book, she hopes to use an entertaining story to give children the tools to overcome bullying.
“Nowadays, with the social media, and the way it’s so much easier to cyber bully, kids are getting bullied at a much younger age than we were,” she said. “It’s important to really help kids build their confidence, and then they can deal with bullies a lot better.”
Scheve, a graduate of Greenwood Community High School, co-owns Twisted Wick Candle Company in Nashville with her husband Rich. Though the candle business keeps them both very busy, Scheve has spent the past decade delving into children’s books as well.
Each of her creations have centered on teaching kids specific skills or life lessons.
“I like to try to find a way to approach it,” she said. “If you can write a story about it, it gives people a different perspective.”
Her first book, “The Cow Jumped Over the ABCs,” taught upper- and lower-case letters, while her second book, “The Sand Crabs Journey Home,” taught counting to 100. “Richie Saves Nashville” was about building problem-solving skills, and, like the title says, “Old McDonald Has a Farm With Lots of Shapes and Colors” focused on teaching shapes and colors.
In creating “The Magic Cardinal,” Scheve’s idea was to give young people an outlet for maintaining confidence, even in the face of bullying.
“The main character in the book is a boy, Richard, who moves a lot. He finally moves to a new school, and he’s a little different than the other kids. And of course, he gets bullied. So he finds comfort in a magic cardinal,” she said. “What the magic cardinal does is build confidence. It’s a positive way to deal with bullies. “
Scheve worked on the story for more than a year after coming up with the idea. She revised the story and pared it down to flow, moving from Richard’s struggles with bullies at his new school to meeting the magic cardinal to overcoming a series of challenges.
To make the story pop visually, Scheve turned to Chris Urbanowski, a fellow Martinsville resident and artist. Urbanowski goes to her church, and Scheve learned she was involved in the art scene around central Indiana. When Scheve asked if she’d want to be the artist, she enthusiastically agreed.
Her work makes all of the difference for the book, Scheve said.
“The pictures really tell the story so well,” Scheve said. “It’s so important to find an artist who can tell the story through the artwork.”
“The Magic Cardinal,” as well as Scheve’s other books, are available to purchase online at twistedwick.com/product-category/jodis-books.
Being able to get her thoughts on bullying out to the public has been incredibly rewarding, and she wants people of all ages to find value in its theme, she said.
“It feels rewarding to put it all together and collaborate with others on this. When it has a good message, that’s even more rewarding,” she said. “I think it will help a lot of kids with bullying.”
