By Samantha Kupiainen
Everything is new for children and they have a deep fascination with the world and how everything works.
Fishers resident and author Keith Lowe recalled how on one particular morning that childhood curiosity ended with Lowe teaching his wife three young daughters how bladders work, using a bag of water as a visual example.
“It was amazing,” said Lowe, who teaches illustration at Indiana Wesleyan University. “Their eyes lit up because they had that example. My spouse, Joanna, said, ‘Well, you should just do a book on the body,’ so I went ahead and pursued that.”
That led to “Your Body: The Fuel Factory,” a children’s book written and illustrated by Lowe that depicts the body as a living machine. The main character, Foreman Blake, and a crew of engineers take readers on a journey throughout the body to discover how digestion works.
Most of the story takes place inside Lowe’s daughter Julia’s gastrointestinal tract, but readers also go outside the body to see the effects of the digestion journey.
Although the book was written for his own curious daughters, Lowe also wrote it to help instruct all kids about the human body and how it works.
“This book is designed to help teachers in the classroom and homeschool parents,” Lowe said.
“Your Body: The Fuel Factory” is Lowe’s second children’s book. His first, “The Titans of Taste,” was published in 2019 and encourages picky eaters to try different foods, with condiments depicted as superheroes.
Besides writing, Lowe is a trained illustrator and has been an assistant professor of illustration at Indiana Wesleyan University since 2020. Prior to that, he was a designer in the video game industry.
“I worked for video game strategy guide books,” Lowe said. “So, super geeky. I did that and then I ran a small business for a few years in board games. But eventually, I’ve been teaching at Indiana Wesleyan. I always kind of aspired to teach. I come from a family of teachers and eventually found myself joining the ranks of teachers as my siblings did.”
Lowe is raising funds to publish “Your Body: The Fuel Factory,” with different pledge levels available to those interested in supporting the work.
“Every backer who helps fund this book’s printing is going to receive a place of recognition in the book,” Lowe said.
For more, visit keithloweart.com/the-fuel-factory.
