Park City author debuts children’s book celebrating imagination and individuality

Robyn Hodess, Park City-based artist and author, holds her debut children’s board book I Am NOT Sophie!, a playful celebration of imagination and self-expression. Photo: Robyn Hodess

PARK CITY, Utah — After nearly 25 years of holding onto a story sparked by a midnight dream, Park City-based artist Robyn Hodess has published her debut children’s board book, I Am NOT Sophie!

Hodess, who moved to Park City with her husband two and a half years ago after raising their family in California, said the idea came to her suddenly one night. “I woke up in the middle of the night, midnight-ish, and was like, oh my god, I had this dream,” she said. “I jumped out of bed, wrote down what I thought, went right back to sleep.”

The story, which sat on the back burner for decades, was inspired in part by the way her children used to play. “This is what my kids did,” she said. “They had a box full of costumes they were always putting on.”

The book follows a young girl named Sophie, who reimagines herself each day of the week with costume pieces found around her home—becoming a tiger, a bird, or even an alligator using everyday objects like tutus or pool noodles. The story promotes creative play, imagination, and acceptance of children’s self-expression.

“I think this book is more important today than ever,” Hodess said. “Kids don’t have the ability to have their own imagination. They’re so preoccupied with phones and computer screens. I think this book is important because kids can see themselves in it—they can say, ‘Hey, I have a pool noodle, I can go become an alligator.’”

Though Hodess has a background as a professional artist—currently working in encaustic painting, which involves hot wax and fire—she does not illustrate children’s books. After repeated encouragement to illustrate the book herself, she connected with Terry Kole, a children’s book illustrator she met through a women’s artist group in Rhode Island.

“We started collaborating on it and working it through what my vision was,” Hodess said. “I told her how I wanted Sophie to look, the age I wanted Sophie to be. The bedroom on the front cover is similar to what I told her. I have painted tulips all over the walls of Sophie’s room.”

With Kole’s help, Hodess submitted her manuscript and vision to Mascot Kids, a children’s imprint of Amplify Publishing Group. “It’s very expensive to self-publish—it’s not for the lighthearted,” Hodess said. “But I really wanted to get it out there to the kids.”

The project took two years from the start of the collaboration to the book’s release.

The final version of I Am NOT Sophie! introduces early concepts like colors and days of the week, while reinforcing messages of acceptance and creativity. “I want the parents to accept their children for who they are, however they are,” Hodess said. “If your kid comes in today and they’re a tiger, don’t say, ‘No, you’re not a tiger.’ Just say, ‘Okay, you are a tiger.’ Who cares, right?”

Hodess said feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive. “Once I can get it into somebody’s hands, the kids are asking for it over and over again,” she said. “I ran into a grandmother the other day—she must have read this book a dozen times in the few days she was with her grandkids.”

While I Am NOT Sophie! is her first book, Hodess hasn’t ruled out future projects—though she noted the cost of publishing is a factor. “If Sophie is really, really successful, it’s quite possible,” she said. “I’ve noodled about a few things, but I don’t want it to be just five more animals. That’s just a copy.”

Although she’s still new to Park City, Hodess said the mountain landscape has influenced her artistic work. “It has influenced me as an artist,” she said. “The mountains have influenced some of the paintings. They’re very abstract—you wouldn’t look at it and go, ‘Oh, that’s the mountains’—but it makes me happy to be here.”

I Am NOT Sophie! is available through Mascot Kids and at local bookstores. Hodess held a reading at Barnes & Noble in Park City and hopes to continue sharing the story with the community.