So there I was...

Every year, my family spent the last full week of July crammed into a two-bedroom, one bathroom lakehouse.  That would be my entire family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, parents) of around 8 adults and 7 kids.  We spent our days fishing, swimming, and exploring.  At night, after dutifully showering (with a garden hose on the porch), we would settle in to read stories and fall asleep. No television and no radio meant we read books until the pages fell off, especially Bugs Bunny's Space Carrot.

Fast Forward 30 years...

August 7, 2009 - we celebrated my sister's *cough, cough*th birthday on a rainy day in the lakehouse.   Her daughter  (Ainsley, 5) grew restless sitting on the porch, waiting for the sun to shine.  Suddenly, she pointed to a broken lure  hanging from the wall and asked why it was missing a hook.  I remembered the day, years ago, when that particular lure stuck in my brother's leg, and Dad cut off the barb to remove it - I thought it would be great if the lure could tell the story himself.

Tales From the Tacklebox begins...

I told the story as I remembered it, but I gave names to all of the lures and elaborated on the other adventures that I remembered from my childhood at the lake - all the while using the lures as the main characters.  Ainsley loved it.  That night, when we looked through the pile of well-worn books for a nighttime story.  Ainsley asked a great question, "Do we have a book about the tacklebox?"

We do now.

As it turns out, there was no suitable book in the house - or even on the internet.  In fact, there are very few illustrated stroybooks out there with a focus on outdoor imagination.  I set about to remedy this by creating a series of illustrated storybooks that can fill the imaginations and lakehouses of every young child who has ever looked forward to a fishing trip. 

Escape From the Crooked Tree..

An exhaustive search for an illustrator led me to Michael Koch.  I bombarded Michael with stories and photos of my lakehouse days and he sketched out a a collection of perfectly drawn, charismatic lures to help give the stories depth and life.  

Our first book, Escape From the Crooked Tree is now available for pre-order.

BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!

Escape From the Crooked Tree is only the first story in the Tacklebox series, but there are many more adventures to be had.  We have a boatload of stories to tell, and we need your help to get the next one off the porch. So, here is what we are thinking:

We need to publish the next book in the Tacklebox Series, entitled
The Hydrilla Clump and the Bigmouth Popper - and we want your help.

Our Budget:

$4,000 - Illustration and Editing Services.  We produce a polished product and we would not ask you to back anything less than perfect.

$1,500 - Book printing.  We print both case-bound and perfectbound books. We also provide an e-version on Amazon, B&N, iTunes.

$500 - Miscellaneous swag and shippping cost to Kickstarter backers like you, as well as promotional materials for the book. (plus the fees).

Thank you in advance for your consideration and kindness. 

Jason