'Grandpa Series' Gives Orland Park Author A Gift No One Else Can Give

ORLAND PARK, IL — Like anyone else in his position, Brian Sullivan wants the very best for his grandchildren. He wants them to be happy and healthy and is happy to be part of those entrusted with helping raise the three youngsters and he hopes — if he’s lucky — he can teach them some valuable lessons along the way.

But for the long-time Orland Park resident and retired writer and editor, Sullivan wants to give them something more.

That’s where the Grandpa Series came to be — a series of two, soon to be three, children’s books that are inspired by each of his grandchildren. Like many aspiring authors, the desire to write and have a book published has long been on the wishlist for Sullivan, who had hoped to write a book for his children when they were younger.

But when life at the time didn’t provide that opportunity more than 30 years ago, retirement life re-opened the window for Sullivan to give this gift to his three grandkids. He hopes in the process that he can inspire parents and others who spend time around children they love, and that they can take some of the lessons that come through the pages of the books he has created.

Sullivan’s second book, “Lilah Loves Life” was released on Thursday on Amazon and follows the Grandpa Series’ first book, “Beau Wants To Know”, which was published in 2020, inspired by the oldest of the three grandchildren, Beau, who is now 5. In time, Sullivan hopes to make the series a trilogy with a book dedicated to another granddaughter, who is now just 2.

“Each one of these is a labor of love,” Sullivan told Patch on Thursday. “I just wanted to give them something that nobody else could give them. Whether it sells big numbers is not my biggest concern. What my biggest concern is that I wrote these books for them.”

He added: “It’s just something I wanted to do for them.”

Each of the books is based on the personality traits of his grandchildren, whom Sullivan has fallen in love with since their birth. Sullivan serves as the children’s caretaker one day a week, which has provided him a front-row seat in their development, which has provided him with the inspiration for each of the books.

Beau, for example, is extremely inquisitive. He needs to know how things work, or how the pieces of mechanical equipment fit together to make it work. With questions he can't have answered, Beau uses his imagination to conjure up a solution to meet his needs.

Lilah on the other hand is a joyful little girl who has a constant smile on her face and sees the best in everyone. For her book, Sullivan wanted to capture what the day in the life of a little girl like Lilah might look like and what comes out of a life lived to its fullest, and when children find a way to embrace each moment they are given.

The book has already climbed to No. 5 on Amazon’s list of New Releases for children’s books and has already been honored with a Mom’s Choice Award. It has been certified as a great read by the “Reading With Your Kids” podcast and has already gotten a good deal of attention despite only being released on Thursday.

While his grandchildren serve as the inspiration for the stories Sullivan creates, there is also an element of creative license on his part. The characters include many of the traits of Beau and Lilah, but Sullivan also uses his storytelling skills to craft a book that he worked on in both cases for the better part of a year or more to perfect before turning them over to be published.

Sullivan says that the birth of his three grandchildren rekindled his desire to write books. He says that all of his grandchildren love to read, and he wanted them to have something that they inspired and that would provide them with a tangible object that reminds them how much they are loved by their grandpa.

While sales aren’t the objective of the books, Sullivan hopes that the stories sell well enough to allow the books to get into the hands of adults raising children who can use the stories as examples of what a quality life might look like.

With the first book, he hopes that children learn to love learning and learn the value of asking questions. With the newly released book about his granddaughter, Sullivan hopes children learn to embrace each day and understand the value of venturing away from screens and into a world of play and adventure where they can enjoy being outdoors and surrounding themselves with things and people that make them smile.

For Sullivan, writing about his grandchildren has proven to be a meaningful experience. While the books are inspired by the three young people, he still looks at them as individuals and not as the subject matter for a book. He says that each of them has their own personality that he has fallen in love with and that has given him a deeper appreciation for who they are as people.

“This has made me treasure them even more than I did before,” Sullivan told Patch. “Once I realized how special each of them is, that’s a very nice feeling when you appreciate them for them, for who they actually are and not as a book subject.”