My first children’s book Felicia the Fawn was an art project at Kenmore Junior High School. While a new school in my neighborhood was being built, my seventh-grade class was bussed across the railroad tracks to an older, well-established community. I had a reputation as the “class artist” gained by dressing showcases and designing and hanging bulletin boards since first grade. At this new school, teachers’ favorites had long been established and in art class, a boy named Harold was the star pupil.
The assignment was to write and illustrate a story for children. Furthermore, we made the entire book with covers of cardboard, and bound the pages with a big needle threaded with twine. We finished by making dust covers. The brand-new collection was sent to a kindergarten class and comments were jotted down. Mine read: “I can see the dried-up blue paint.” “My dad’s name is Wilbert.” (There was nobody by that name in Felicia’s realm!)
It has only been in the past year or two that I have begun writing books for children. Having great-grandnieces (and a nephew) who love books, I suddenly had a built-in audience. I am still not sure how things clicked but, it might have had to do with seeing a bland cotton doll propped up in a check-out line who looked needy and forlorn. I came up with a story, did the drawings and by a stroke of luck my sister Roberta wanted to turn my stories into actual, polished, and lovely books. Then came the icing on the cake, she knew how to get them published and for sale through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
I cannot find words to say how surprised I am, after all these years, to do this or how much it means to hold in my hands the finished books. Without getting metaphysical, philosophical, or sappy, I can say that my stars aligned, and the time was finally right. Collaborating with my sister is the best thing imaginable. I could continue to live my life very contentedly without ever achieving this goal but to do it after many false tries stuns me. Take a look at “What’s New” and “Children’s Books” in the index to see the eleven books already completed.
Felicia the Fawn was returned to me a few years ago and it deserves to be made available if only because it has survived all these years — along with the original comments page. So, stay tuned, Felicia will soon be joining the other children’s books for your enjoyment that are published by bobbin-olive.com.
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