Ty Allan Jackson, founder of Big Head Books, is the author of the company's books Danny Dollar Millionaire Extraordinaire and When I Close My Eyes. He's an avid supporter of childhood education and promoting literacy amongst youth, a far cry from his previous job in corporate sales. Though he never foresaw such a drastic career change, his life now has a totally different purpose. The story of how Big Head Books started is simple — the seed was planted by my son. In 2008, I was in corporate sales and very unhappy with my job. One day, my six-year-old son asked me to help him open a lemonade stand, which I never did when I was growing up in the Bronx. We set up shop on the corner of our street and I was very surprised when, within a few hours, he'd made $50. He asked me what to do with the money and I wasn't sure. Money and entrepreneurship weren't conversations I was prepared to have with my son. I went to the bookstore to find a children's book on the subject and there was nothing. A light bulb went on in my head — I should write that book! — and Danny Dollar was born. After pitching the book to about 150 agents with no success, I knew I had two options: Scrap the whole project or publish it myself. I started my own company in December 2010 and sold 1,000 copies in the first month. I thought, if can sell 1,000, then I can sell a billion. So I quit my job to focus on it full time.
I've visited every school in the Pittsfield area to give a presentation, whether it was to read to young kids or to recount the story of how I started my business. When my partner Eddie Taylor joined the company, the mission of Big Head Books changed. We went from being a publishing company to being a literacy foundation and are now more focused on teaching children and adults to read. We visit day care centers, schools and the Berkshire County House of Corrections with our program "Families United Through the Love of Literacy." We record incarcerated parents reading our books, and send the DVD to their child, so the child can have this parent read them a story any time they want. When these people get out of jail, they can bring the culture of reading to their children, which is important because two out of three kids who can't read end up incarcerated or impoverished. This helps families break the cycle. Reading is the most amazing form of entertainment there is. Maybe even more so than movies because movies don’t stimulate the mind in the same way reading does. The Berkshire Athenaeum, and libraries in general, are an untapped resource. There are so many fun activities, the staff is so helpful and libraries serve as an introduction to genre of fun children might not know exists. I've lived in Pittsfield for 10 years and have found a great sense of community here. Education here is paramount, which is very refreshing for a guy from the Bronx.
