Time for something that’s just pure fun.
A month or so ago, my mom was going through a bookshelf and found something odd stuck in one of their books. She pulled it out and laughed…because this wasn’t just random paper. This was my very, very, very first book.
In primary school, each year from second grade on, my teachers assigned us a big project of writing and illustrating our own books. Talk about an assignment MADE for me! I was already writing stories by this time, but I’d never turned one into a real book before. 😉
So in second grade, I created this (ahem) masterpiece. Written and illustrated by Roseanna Higson (my maiden name, of course). And please note the copyright page, added by my mom, LOL.
I thought it would be fun to show you this glimpse into my writing beginnings!
So here we go. Photos of the actual book, with the text typed out below to be easier to read (with spelling mistakes preserved, LOL, and marked with [sic].)
The Brave Princess
by Roseanna Higson
Illustrated by
Roseanna Higson
Printed 1990
All rights reserved to printer
Once there was a princess that was very nice and happy. Her name was Beauty. She lived alone in a gigantic castle in a far-away land. She was sixteen years old. She was independent
and intelligent. She loved nature and protected it and cared for it.
The princess was special for many resons [sic]. She had magic powers and she was very brave too.
She was energetic and the best friend in the land. She was pretty and had long brown hair. She liked to play with her pet
unicorn and do gymnastics. Everybody loved her very much. She loved her pet unicorn. She had a magic twisted horn that could tell the weather and light up. She could
live forever. Virita was a nice pet that was loving and caring and she could talk. She was pink and she had a horn made of gold. She lived outside the big castle.
One day the princess was
getting ready for her seventeenth birthday party. She was very happy that all of her friends could come. She made a huge delicious chocolete [sic] birthday cake and scrumptios [sic] creamy orange sherbert [sic] ice cream. They would all play “Pin-the-Tail-on-the
Donkey” and open presents. She was almost ready when all the animals started knocking at the door. When she opened it they almost blew right into the castle! The wind was so strong that Beauty almost lost her crown!
She quickly shut the door and Virita
said that a hurricane had come! The unicorn got frightened for a minute and then remembered Beauty’s magic powers. She said if she put the sun and rain together it would make a rainbow and block the wind. That way they would all be safe! The
unicorn warned her not to step outside but she did anyway. Her hair was blowing then she cast the magic spell and the hurricane couldn’t get through the rainbow! So she went in and told the animals that is was safe now. The princess went upstairs and got in bed to rest for her birthday.
When she woke up the next day she got
dressed and made breakfast. All the animals came in to eat. They were having pancakes and eggs. After breakfast she braided her hair and put in a bow. She was happy and cheerful because her land had been saved. She put her favorite red dress on and went downstairs where all the animals were waiting. After that they sang “Happy Birthday!” It was the best
birthday ever because all Beauty wanted was to have friends and be happy.
And there you have it. The very first book written and illustrated by Roseanna. Hope you got a kick out of it much like I do. 😉


Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.