County News
Holy moly, what’s that?
New children’s book by Cherry Valley resident
When two inquisitive dogs find their back yard gate has been left open, they go out on an exploring adventure in the woods, making friends with several woodland creatures and learning about all kinds of new things. That’s the premise of a new children’s book written by Cherry Valley resident Donna Kaye and her sister Nancy Cronin, and illustrated by their nephew Dustin Foley. Move Along Huxley and Roscoe! tells the adventures of Huxley, a four-year-old Scottish terrier, and Roscoe, an eight-yearold miniature poodle as they go exploring. Huxley is curious and outgoing, while Roscoe is more cautious and is happiest when curled up in someone’s lap. But as they journey through the forest, Roscoe is the one to say, “Holy moly, what’s that?”
The book idea began during a family lunchtime meet-up. Ms. Kaye was working as a Forest and Wildlife School practitioner in the outdoor programs in Hastings County for infants, toddlers and preschoolers and their families. “That was the best job I ever had, I couldn’t wait to get to work every day,” she said. She was late to the lunch and was bubbling over with excitement about her day when she arrived. “It was a rainy day and I was like, ‘It was so great. We saw mushrooms and salamanders.’ And a light bulb went off in Nancy’s head. She had always wanted to write a children’s book that featured her dog, and she thought with my passion and excitement and knowledge about the outdoors we could write a book together.”
Both Ms. Kaye and Ms. Cronin had long careers in working with children and youth, and they got together in January last year and over a weekend created the framework for their new book. They wanted to engage the curiosity of young readers, and chose to feature Ms. Cronin’s two dogs making new woodland friends as they explored the forest. It took several months to develop the story, after which they approached their nephew for the illustrations. Mr. Cronin works in the BC silviculture industry as a tree planting manager, and has just “dabbled” in art, but the two sisters were impressed by the quality of his work and thought his style would be perfect for their book. With his busy work schedule, Mr. Cronin finally completed the illustrations this past March, and the book was sent off to One Thousand Trees in Guelph for printing at the beginning of April. The book is geared towards children up to about eight years old, and is ideal for reading to toddlers and preschoolers. The book invites the readers to explore, and each section ends with Huxley and Roscoe saying “Thank you” to their woodland friends. “It’s a way to show gratitude and respect for nature,” said Ms. Kaye. “The text provides an opportunity to learn, and we present everything in a friendly and natural way.” The book is available at Books & Company, as well as at MELT Gallery.
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