Let’s just address “the Kaiju in the room” immediately:


Yes. This blog post is absolutely aimed at families where at least one parent:

  • repeatedly recites movie quotes with great passion,
  • has cried during a cartoon (come on, if you haven’t cried to “Bambi,” you need to go find the Wizard of Oz to get a heart … the hunter shoots his mother for God’s sake.)
  • explained “the lore” of something for approximately 47 minutes longer than necessary, or
  • argued about fictional universes (“Why didn’t the Eagles just fly Frodo and the Ring to Mordor?” Well, that’s because… okay, let’s not go down that rabbit hole).

If so … Welcome! You are among friends.


We’re a family from Denmark (two daughters and their dad) who have written a book together.


And not just any book; a comedy about a boy called “Smirtz” who gets into lots of fun trouble with his friends.


And not just a comedy; but a “nerdy comedy.”


And not just … (Okay, okay. Enough with the self-promoting intro phrases.)


The point is, we’ve written a super funny book called “The Stories of Smirtz,” that younger readers (or listeners) will love because of all the fast-paced, crazy action and mayhem.


But… the book also aims to amuse older readers, like young adults and parents. (Obviously not “old, boring parents,” but “hip and cool parents.” You know, parents with all the right dance moves like: “the robot,” “the Saturday Night Fever-pose,” and “the sliding fingers in front of your face Pulp Fiction-move.” Oh, and we mustn’t forget the: “shooting gun-finger from the hip-move” … now that’s a classic.)


Anyway, we crammed our book with hidden “Easter egg” references to our favorite movies, series, and books. And it also takes some loving, ironic “jabs” at paradoxical adult behavior, so that it can be enjoyed by all ages.


IF that has already piqued your interest, then a couple of choices for you here:

  • You can find a sample chapter from the book and its Table Of Contents here: Sample Chapter. (The sample chapter has some nice Star Trek references. And we’ve included the Table of Contents, as the chapter headings and the subheadings within each chapter give you a pretty good idea of the book’s unhinged humor, plus some “Easter eggs” are certainly also to be found there.)
  • If you want to read more about the book itself and the crazy characters within it, you can do that here: What is The Stories of Smirtz about. Or, if you want, you can read about “us” (the three authors) and our book writing journey here: About the Authors of Smirtz.


Good. Now that we got this out of the way, let’s move on, as we would really like to describe why we think our book (“The Stories of Smirtz”) would be a great fit if you’re “a nerdy parent,” who wants to read something to/with your children that you can all enjoy.


Maybe as part of “Family Reading Time” or in a “Family Book Club”? Concepts we’ve made a post about that can be found here: “The Stories of Smirtz”: The Perfect Book for Family Reading Time or a Family Book Club”


(And by the way, we use that term “nerdy parent” as a compliment. In fact, the dad of the three-leaf author team wears it himself as a “badge of honor.”)


The Stories of Smirtz”: The Perfect Fit for Imaginative Families

One thing we’ve discovered while writing “The Stories of Smirtz” is that it’s fun to share your nerdy parent-side with your children.


Granted, they might find you “cringe” (update this phrase yourself with appropriate contemporary slang-phrase at time of reading this post) but they will be inspired by your contagious enthusiasm for what you’re passionate about. And this can lead to incredible bonding moments, for example in front of the TV or in a movie theater, or … when reading a book together!


And honestly, that’s probably one of the reasons The Stories of Smirtz came to be the way it did.


The book, at its core, is based on homemade bedtime stories about the loveable Smirtz. But after we put pen to paper (years after the bedtime stories stopped), the stories just grew and grew out of our shared excitement around movies, series, Greek mythology, theater, and role-playing. The universe around Smirtz escalated wildly out of control … in a good way.


So, “The Stories of Smirtz” was intentionally written for imaginative families where:

  • weird jokes are encouraged,
  • movie references are appreciated, and
  • creativity is celebrated.

And “imaginative” is also one way of describing one of the book’s characters. One of our personal favorites. The children’s lovable but somewhat eccentric teacher … Erling.


Although he doesn’t appear until the last four chapters, Erling takes on an imposing and powerful presence in these.


Erling absolutely loves his students (and they love him). He also absolutely loves medieval role-playing.


Unfortunately, those two things become an increasingly dangerous combination whenever Smirtz and his friends accidentally escalate situations into complete mayhem.


Because Erling does not merely pretend to role-play. No, no.


When facing a chaotic situation (and those appear frequently when Smirtz and his classmates are involved), Erling’s coping mechanism is to fully immerse himself in his knightly alter ego (Erling Alfa Beowulf), determined to protect his students from whatever imaginary evil force he believes has emerged. Sometimes this involves dramatic speeches. Sometimes heroic battle cries. And somehow … this almost always makes the situation WORSE.


If you want to experience the formidable Erling Alfa Beowulf firsthand, it’s actually possible. If you click this link and sign up for more info about the book, we’ll send you ANOTHER free sample chapter: Sign up for another free sample chapter. And that chapter is … “Smirtz in London.” The chapter where Smirtz and his class travel to London for a school trip and the reader gets to meet Erling for the first time.


He’s able to take a simple school trip and turn it into a full-scale quest … whether anyone asked for it or not. (Especially when arriving at Buckingham Palace.) Yet somehow, against all odds, his confidence and “knight persona” never dissolves … even when absolutely everything else around him does.


The Local Comic Book Store Effect

Our family absolutely loves visiting our local comic bookstore.


You know the type. The kind of place that looks like it exists somewhere between “The Big Bang Theory” and “The Simpsons.” (Can’t you just hear Comic book Guy from the Simpsons: “Worst blog segue …EVER!”)


A place filled with comics, collectibles, fantasy books, board games, movie posters, and incredibly expensive memorabilia. And honestly … to us it’s “home away from home.”


And yes, it was the dad who introduced his daughters to that place and they immediately loved it. (Also, a place where we found plenty of inspiration for our beloved “Erling” while wandering around in there.)


Basically, the dad’s takeaway from these trips is that introducing your children to your hobbies is actually a pretty amazing thing. Not because children must become tiny copies of their parents. But because shared interests create shared memories.


Also, trying to force them with, for example, an “Esther … I am your father,” doesn’t really work. Perhaps the dad’s voice simply doesn’t command the same respect and authority as James Earl Jones?)


The point is, sometimes seeing adults genuinely passionate about something imaginative gives children “permission” to embrace their own creativity too.


And while we are obviously not claiming that reading our book automatically transforms families into magical creativity wizards (although it might… just saying), we DO think stories, hobbies, games, books, movies, and imagination have a remarkable ability to bring people together.


So, if you have introduced your children to your creative (“nerdy”) hobbies, then why don’t you give “The Stories of Smirtz” a chance? Perhaps for you to read together as a family? It will spark laughter from children and adults alike. And it will give you an opportunity to find the hidden “Easter egg” references to movies and series and tell your children about them as they appear.


Maybe that can lead to all of you later watching some of the mentioned movies and series together?


“It’s only logical...”


Oh, and if you do go on such an “Easter egg” hunt (or you simply want to discuss our book or any other nerdy topic), then feel free to reach out to us here: Contact Us.


That’s it. Hope to hear from you.


Bye!


About This Blog

This blog is written by the family behind The Stories of Smirtz: a funny family-written book created by two daughters and their dad.

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