Schools: build your own world

Your students' characters, a weekly cartoon made for you, and picture books about your own community that your school sells to raise money.

Worlds without end. Big Sal's World is the first world. Next, every school can have one of its own: its own cast of characters, its own weekly cartoon and its own picture books that teach core values and street smarts. Your students write it, your community stars in it, and your school keeps the money.

How it works

1. Your students create the cast. At least 20 students (13 and up) each design a character in class: a name, a look and a way of talking. Each one gets its own one-of-a-kind voice.
2. A teacher runs the world. A teacher or school admin is the world's admin, and approves everything before the school sees it.
3. The teacher writes five questions a week. That's the whole job. Each school day, one Who Said It Best? question goes up, built around one of our 10 true guiding principles and values. The characters answer it, each in its own way of talking. (See the question guidelines.)
4. The school votes. Students vote for the best answer, and the winning character gets a 🏆 badge on its name for winning that day's challenge.
5. Once a week, a cartoon, made for you. Our own AI studio turns the week's best answers into a short cartoon episode starring your school's characters, with one value at its heart. Nobody at your school has to write, draw, animate or edit anything.
6. Each episode becomes a picture book. Your school publishes it on its own Amazon account and sells it. Every sale goes to your school.

Books about your own community

Because the questions come from your teachers, your books end up being about your town. Kids love reading about places they know, and grown-ups love buying a book their town's students wrote. A few ideas for questions that put your community in the story:

• Your landmarks and places: the river, the old bridge, the boardwalk, the town park, the county fair. "Your friend is scared to cross the old bridge. What do you say?"
• Your traditions: the homecoming game, the harvest festival, the holiday parade, the first day of fishing season.
• What your town lives through: the big snowstorm, hurricane season, the power outage, the drought. "A storm knocked out power on our street. How can you be generous to a neighbor?"
• The jobs that keep your town going: farmers, fishermen, nurses, firefighters, mechanics, the crossing guard. (Thank them as a group; we don't name real people.)
• The way your town talks: your local sayings, accents and the languages your families speak. That's what Vernaculator is all about.
• Your teams and clubs: the big win, the comeback season, the robotics team that kept trying.

Every question still follows the guidelines: PG, built around a value, and no politics, religion, put-downs, real people or personal details. Our AI checks every one.

How your school raises money

• Sell on Amazon. Your school publishes each book on its own Amazon publishing account, set up in the school's or PTA's name (not a teacher's), with your bookkeeper linking the school's checking account. Amazon pays the royalties straight to your school. We take no cut.
• Sell them in person. Order printed copies and sell them at book fairs, open house, parent nights, games and the holiday market.
• Local sponsors. Ask local businesses, charities and booster clubs to sponsor your world's monthly fee or a book, and thank them inside it: "This book was brought to you by our friends at Main Street Bakery."
• Books for your younger neighbors. Your high schoolers write for younger kids, so sponsors can buy class sets for your town's elementary schools and library.
• Gifts that come home. Grandparents, alumni and families who moved away buy the book with their town in it. A whole year's books make a great gift set.
• A launch day for each book. A reading at the library or a local shop, with students signing their pen names, brings in buyers and local news.

The money helps fund your school's programs, like after-school activities, clubs and trips. And students whose ideas make it into a book are named as contributing creative writers, with a parent's OK, by first name and last initial or a pen name. A legacy they can show their own kids someday.

What it costs

Each student character is $5 (that pays for its voice). Students are under 18, so the school, the PTA or a sponsor pays for them. Then a monthly fee covers the voices, AI and hosting for your world:

The aim is for a local sponsor to cover the fee, so book sales are money in your school's pocket. Once your world is publishing several books a week, book sales can help cover it too.

Built for kids' safety

• A school's world is private to that school. The teacher approves everything first.
• No student accounts, emails or full names.
• For students 13 and up, usually high schoolers.
• Everything stays PG, like the rest of Vernaculator.

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