Merrill Rainey should get the award for the coolest grownup ever.
The Whitehouse writer/illustrator/father of two gets up every morning at 6:30 a.m. Sometimes he goes for a run, sometimes not. He puts on his Ariat cowboy boots and proceeds to spend his day writing, illustrating, and designing pop-out books (as opposed to pop-up books) for children all over the world.
Rainey’s new book My First Town: A Building Block Book, which comes out April 4, is a do-it-yourself activity book for kids where readers ages 4 and older can pop-out the pages and build a city out of paper, complete with cars, buildings, trees, hydrants, and other things that you’ll find around a city.
“I’ve been doing paper engineering for a good part of 12 years,” said Rainey in an interview. “It’s just something I’ve always been interested in.”
The first page of My First Town lists the instructions for Rainey’s book. Step one: Punch out the pieces on the page. Step two: Fold along the yellow lines. Step three: Using a glue stick, seal the pieces on the appropriate tabs.
The whole book is like that — a fun and whimsical way for youngsters (and the young-at-heart) to build their very own paper city. Rainey has been fortunate enough to make his passion his career and work full time as a writer and paper artist.
Rainey, 45, grew up west of Cleveland in Elyria, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University. Before he wrote children’s books full time, Rainey worked as a graphic designer for a company called Healthy Interactions, designing educational materials for companies. In 2018, he self published his first children’s book Super Hero Color - Cut - Create! Paper Toy Activity Book and was soon selling his work to such big publishing companies as Macmillan and HarperCollins.
The author also works for many children’s magazines like Highlights, Ranger Rick, and Humpty Dumpty and has served on the faculty at the Highlights Foundation retreat center. He is also the former illustrator coordinator for the Northern Ohio chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. The current issue of Humpty Dumpty features a big story on My First Town.
Rainey has received several accolades in the children’s literary world. His book Roar! I’m A Dinosaur was the winner of the Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Board Book of 2022 and his book Giants Are Very Brave People was a 2023 Cybils Awards nominee.
But writing and designing children’s books requires some serious adulting.
“This is probably the hardest job I’ve ever had,” said Rainey. “It’s like any other business that you own. It’s not like a traditional 9-5 where you can just leave it at the door at 5 o’clock. Deadlines are always at the top of your mind and when the creative spirit calls, you have to answer. It’s not a traditional job but it seems to be working out.”
With My First Town prepping for release, Rainey is currently hard at work on his next project On the Air with Dr. Doodle Bug, which comes out in October. Unlike My First Town, On the Air with Dr. Doodle Bug is a traditional picture book.
“I’m a person who likes to learn new things and work with my hands,” he said. “A lot of my books are geared towards being a creativity starter and get kids working with their hands.”
To promote My First Town, Rainey has several local appearances planned this spring, including a release event April 6 at the University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum, and a visit to the Claire’s Day Book Festival in Maumee in May.
Another release event will see Rainey appear at local book shop Gathering Volumes (196 E. South Boundary St., Perrysburg) on April 2 at 6:30 p.m. Store owner Denise Phillips said Rainey’s excellent ability to connect with young people make him an exceptional children’s author.
“He’s excellent with school visits and he’s really good at working with students,” said Phillips, who noted Rainey has held events at the store several times including one after Giants Are Very Brave People was released in 2023.
The owner said that she appreciates Rainey’s focus on core principles young people need to learn.
“He’s very STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics) oriented, which is very popular right now with educators and students,” she said. “We’re excited to have him back and he’s very engaging and he always brings a ton of activities.”
Someone else who has witnessed Rainey’s impact upon the world of children’s books is his friend and former editor Justin Krasner, who currently works as an editorial director at the publishing company Sourcebooks.
“If (Merrill’s) Color Cut Create series are the LEGO of paper toy books, then his new series is kind of Duplo, which is LEGO’s younger audience,” said Krasner.
The editor said that Rainey is everything a children’s book author needs to be.
“Merrill meets kids where they are. He never talks down to kids. He challenges them, never throws softballs, and that why his book resonates with younger readers. He really speaks their language. It’s always that perfect mix of ‘Yes, I can do this but also let me learn and grow from this.’”
For more information about Merrill Rainey and his books, visit littlerainey.com.
First Published March 2, 2025, 8:00 p.m.
