Thank you to Barbara Leonhard for sharing our Christmas story on MasticadoresUSA.
Enjoy this darling Christmas story. Merry Christmas!
It was two nights before Christmas, a cold and cloudy day When the Roundy Twins thought of a new idea for play Into Sir Chocolate’s Chocolatier, the naughty pair snuck And found his sweet decorating tools; for them a bit of luck
Picture caption: The Roundy Twins
They spent the long winter’s evening having a lot of fun And admired their handiwork when they were quite done They had painted the town with Sir Chocolate’s edible-paint The tubes were all empty, they had painted without restraint
Pictures and graffiti adorned every house in town’s walls They had been to the local market and sprayed all the stalls And the stage in the park, was full of paint and a mess Shocked at their destruction, the twins were a bit stressed
Today, I am highlighting Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans written by Kaye Lynne Booth and illustrated by me.
What prompted you to write a book for children?
Since living in the Colorado mountains, I’ve become somewhat of a birdwatcher. The birds and animals which visited my yard inspired me to write Charlie Chickadee Finds a New Home with a true incident which occurred when a family of chickadees were chased out of the nest they had built in a tree in my yard. The Heather Hummingbird and Timothy Turtle characters were inspired by watching live hummingbirds and an incident which occurred with a live turtle, although the events in their stories are fictional.
Which writers of children’s fiction influenced you as a child and as an adult?
As a child, my favorite book was Little Bear’s Visit, by Else Holmelund Minarik, illustrated by Maurice Sendak. I always laughed when Little Bear gets scared and runs away from his own shoes, and the tale about how Momma Bear found the injured bird always touched my heart.I also enjoyed humorous books like “Stand Back,” Said the Elephant, “I’m Going to Sneeze”, by Patricia Thomas and Wallace Tripp. But, Dr. Suess was probably my favorite author. His books and those of Shell Silverstein were heavy influences in my poetry, and perhaps in my children’s books as well. I have always been a sucker for rhyming and alliteration.
As an adult, I read all those same books to my children, but I think our favorite was Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. My kids and I had the words memorized and they would help in the reading of the story. We even told that story camping, without the assistance of the book. I love words. I love playing with words and sounds. Writing children’s stories and poetry are my outlets for that sense of playfulness and humor, as well as my love for rhyming and alliteration. Those don’t always sit well in adult literature.
My review of Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans
Picture caption: cover of Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans
Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans is a delightful story about animals that could inhabit a child’s backyard. Timothy the turtle discovers a collection of colourful sweeties that a young girl has discarded as they are too sweet for her. The girl’s cat, Katy, warns Timothy that these sweets gave the girl a tummy ache, but he proceeds to eat the sweet treats anyway. There is a lesson to be learned by Timothy, but he has lots of helpful friends to aid him in his distress. This book includes a subtle message about the benefits of healthy eating.
The book also introduces young readers to beavers and nuthatches and includes realistic drawings and paintings of these creatures.
I enjoyed this delightful and well written story for children.
My illustrations
I had only been drawing for about a year when Kaye approached me about illustrating these three books. I was still finding my feet as an artist and trying out different mediums. This book includes some drawings and also some of my first paintings as I discovered what has become my favourite art medium.
Picture caption: This is one of my favourite drawings. I love the turtle I managed to create and the colours of the background and jellybeans.Picture caption: This is one of my first watercolour paintings ever. I really loved how it came out. A delightful Becky the Beaver.
Discounted pricing
Kaye’s My Backyard Friends books are available at discounted prices from 1 to 25 December at the links below.
Kaye Lynne Booth is a multi-genre author who has had a whole collection of children’s stories just waiting for the right illustrator.
The books in the My Backyard Friends series are inspired by the birds and animals that visit author Kaye Lynne Booth’s mountain home. The first three books in the series are Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend, Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home, and Timothy Turtle Discovers Jelly Beans.
Author poet and illustrator Robbie Cheadle does the beautiful illustrations that bring this series to life.
About Robbie Cheadle
Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle profile picture
South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
roberta-writes.com 