A local author visited the Helen Keller School Wednesday as part of his national book tour.

Ty Allen Jackson says he began writing when his son asked him if they could open a lemonade stand. He says he wanted to find children's books about finance and entrepreneurship, but couldn't. 

So he wrote his own. But, he says, the first 150 agents he submitted the manuscript to turned it down.

So next, he created his own publishing company, Big Head Books.

Now, after years of writing, topics of his books range from bullying to self-affirmation, and he provides copies of them to children living in shelters and families with incarcerated parents.

"There's a great quote by Frederick Douglass that I love," Jackson says, referencing the notable 19th century African-American abolitionist. "It says, 'It's easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.’”

"Whether it's high unemployment, drug use, etc., they are all directly related to illiteracy," Jackson says. "So the more we inspire our kids to read today, the more likely they'll be thriving adults tomorrow."