OSHKOSH, Wis. (WFRV) – A library assistant at an Oshkosh elementary school is using her childhood memories to create stories for children.

Jacqueline Paske Gill has been illustrating and writing Children’s books since 2011. One of her most notable books, The Monster in the Basement, draws inspiration from her childhood.

Gill talked about the book saying, “Being afraid of the dark, the closet or the basement, is based on a true story. My sister and I are in it as cartoons, and then my brother, you find at the end, is the monster because he used to tease us as kids.”

Gill has illustrated 28 books, 8 of them being written by her. In her most recent work, The People Puppy, however, Gill has gained a co-writer: her son Colby.

“This is totally inspired from him when he was like 4. We lost our dog that was like his sibling. We talked about it, I walked out of the room and wrote the whole story down on a piece of lined paper and I held on to it for about 10 years. Now, he’s in high school and he helped me do the sketches and we just kind of wrote it together,” Gill says.

Her passion for working with kids and the connections she makes are her biggest motivation.

She says, “When I do a read-aloud at the school library and the kids all tell their stories, It’s really cool. I know that they’re enjoying that connection, that they can relate to it in their own life, and that’s kind of what I’m trying to do.”

Gill’s books are available at most online book retailers, including Barnes and Noble.