THE STORY
Yes, that’s right. The original traffic light erected in Cleveland, Ohio back in 1914 --- right on the corner of 105th and Euclid, in fact --- only had a red and green lens. No yellow. This happens to be the colorful tale that led to such a bright idea. You see, hidden inside that odd, blinking box above your head, lies an entire city filled with tiny, luminary beings called BULBIES, who channel their inner currents and shine their lights for the world to see. Now, one might wonder --- what would happen if the red and green lights were somehow mixed together? Good question. It’s just not done. There are rules after all. Until, that is, a Red and Green Bulbie happen to fall in love… And so we meet TRICITY --- their precious ‘TRIS,’ and the first-ever-seen, Yellow Bulbie. Her arrival caused quite the stir, indeed. “Yellow Bulbies should stay out of sight!” Said the grumbling town who did not like her sunny shade.
So, Tris embarks from her traffic light home and headlong into a grand adventure to find a place to shine. Along the way, Tris meets a purple Christmas light who guides her through the night, introducing her to “lights upon lights with so many names.” Standing in the warmth of so many different kinds of bulbs, lamps and orbs of brilliant blaze, Tris discovers that a collage of colors lies at the heart of the city’s majestic glow and that her own unique, yellow shine had a place to be after all --- right between a green and red back home, “A traffic light needs yellow like me!” And that’s how it got all its colors… all three.
The Overview
BULBIES is a rhyming picture book for children ages 2-8 years old. A little-known, yet fascinating historical setting sets the framework for this tale and the iconic design of the traffic signal makes the content visually accessible. Most children will have looked up to see a traffic signal dangling above their heads, and BULBIES is a story that gives color to a simple, wonder-filled question – what happens inside? Alongside some deeply meaningful themes, this narrative also provides in-road methods to children learning their color and light mixtures.
An unexpected educational edge naturally embedded into the narrative, which has the potential to translate the content into STEAM-related material. BULBIES is a vibrant world of possibilities, specifically designed to expand as a series in multiple entertainment mediums. There are three additional, planned picture book installments (see next page) and an animated feature adaptation with a planned film franchise to follow (see last page). Both the picture book manuscript and the screenplay adaptation were written by the same author, R. E. Sabin who is the contest coordinator for the Southern Breeze Region of SCBWI and has worked as a Creative Executive at Pipeline Media Group for eight years.
Cover art by graphic designer Kara Pelley.
Character designs by artists Megan Davies and Kaisia Menzies.
“Through Tricity's journey, this entertaining story cleverly invites children to begin to explore the various types of lights in the world around them, and to realize that being unique is special and should be celebrated.”
-Dayle Anne Dodds, Bestselling Children’s Book Author (The Shape of Things)