ELORA – It will take longer to tell the tale of Sky Hammond’s Big Book of Teeny Tiny Stories than to actually read it.
Hammond’s stories – just four simple lines – have become a book and now and TV series.
“I was studying law at a university in Holland,” the Elora man said in an interview. “I started writing these short, little prompts to keep me creative before studying. They saved me from much dryer text.”
The stories are generally four sentences long and he often starts with the last line or the story twist, and builds the story from there.
“Some are existential, some are commentary on the environment. The kid ones took a shift in thinking,” he said.
He posted the stories online for family to read. Then others started following. Then he reached out to artists he knew to illustrate the stories and some artists reached out to him.
Eventually he compiled them into a book that was published in 2020 on Amazon.
The book was picked up by Good Game Films, who pitched it around.
And now the book has been picked up by TVOkids and has become an animated TV series called Teeny Tiny Stories.
The stories are charming, entertaining and surprisingly powerful for all their brevity. And thanks to input from educators, they are a great fit with primary school curriculum.
What happens next? What does the other cat look like? What’s a hero?
Story art – This art from one of the stories (An Ode To Max) is by artist Ida Varosanec. Submitted image
An experienced teacher can turn a teeny tiny story into a creative writing and art project for the whole class.
“I don’t think I realized how (the stories) could facilitate teaching,” Hammond said, adding the book is now circulating in teacher circles and he’s receiving valuable feedback on how the stories are being adapted in the classroom.
Hammond acknowledged he’s lucky that his uncle, Trevor Hammond, is co-founder and executive producer of Good Game Films.
“I’m super lucky his company saw something in (the book),” Hammond said.
“Without that connection, I would never have had the opportunity.”
In a press release Trevor Hammond says he knew the stories were going to be special.
“I was lucky enough to see Sky’s ideas take shape when he was still exploring what he wanted to do with this art form,” Trevor stated.
“After he published the book, our team wanted to find a way to bring his creativity to more people through a TV series and online distribution.
“Our incredible partners at TVOkids have made this possible and we can’t wait to see what inspiration it brings youth across Ontario and around the world.”
TVO allowed Hammond to be part of the process. He modified some of his stories and wrote brand new ones to fit the video format.
“I loved this experience, writing for TVO and for kids. It’s much more gratifying than legalese,” he said.
“If another opportunity came along, I would hands down take it.”
The 30 episodes can be viewed on TVO’s YouTube channel.
