Pint-size publishers can make their mark

Have YOU ever wished that Starbucks had a kids’ crafts table to keep your toddler occupied while you sipped your coffee? Your wish may have just come true.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30, Scribble Press -- the 8-week-old arts spot in the Westside Pavilion -- hosts free drop-in “Coffee and Coloring” sessions during which preschoolers get some solid crayon time and the grown-ups can indulge in caffeine and conversation.

But beyond coloring, Scribble Press also lets kids write, illustrate and ultimately publish their own books -- a sort of Color Me Mine for the pen-and-paper set. And if your child is more of an artist than an author, he or she can create greeting cards and notepads.

Scribble Press was born during a five-hour plane ride in August 2006. Anna Barber and Darcy Pollack found themselves sitting next to each other, and the two L.A. businesswomen and mothers bonded over a shared love of books.

When Barber, whose parents worked in the publishing industry, heard Pollack’s idea for a store in which kids made books, she smelled a winner.

“We were very lucky that the technology had just emerged in the last year to do this,” Barber says. “Two or three years ago, it would not have been technologically possible.”

And the book-making technology isn’t just possible, it’s pretty simple. Your child chooses the type of book he or she wants -- a cue book (made from an existing template such as “If I Was a Superhero,” “I Lost My Tooth” or “My Potty Book”) or a “make up your own” book. The next decision is whether it’ll be a paperback or board book, and if there will be a back cover photo. Then the young author gets pages upon which to weave his or her tale. Once completed, the pages go to the back room, where Scribble Press’s Powis Parker PhotoPress machine binds them into a book in about 20 minutes.

When it came to designing their book templates, Pollack and Barber turned to two sources: kids and academics. These two “mom-trepreneurs” did focus groups with their children (who range in age from 1 to 10) and their kids’ pals. They also assembled an advisory team of child development experts to help them construct their cue print books.

Though the store has been open only since May, it has attracted repeat customers. Kathleen Tuthill has brought in her 3 1/2 year old son Vincent several times because she likes the controlled environment in which her son, who loves to draw, can be creative.

“When he saw the wall of pens, he was in heaven,” Tuthill says, adding, “this is the only mommy-and-son-time thing we have ever done where he gets to be artistic -- that’s what I liked about it.”

And artistic and narrative expression have benefits beyond making excellent gifts, according to Barber.

“Seeing the self-esteem when a child finishes a book is a priceless feeling,” she says.

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-- theguide@latimes.com

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SCRIBBLE PRESS

WHERE: Westside Pavilion, 10800 W. Pico Blvd. No. 219, West L.A.

WHEN: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun

PRICE: Books cost $12 plus a flat $10 studio fee. “Coffee and Coloring” sessions are free

INFO: (310) 446-6154; www.scribblepress.com