A Tenrec Named Trey
(And other odd lettered animals that like to play)
The book is an anthology of eight animal stories, ranging from 250-400 words per story. The book is a soft cover, 8.5 x 11 (52 page booklet), full color, bleeds to the edges, saddle stitched. Interior printed on 80lb paper.
A is for anteater. Got it. B is for bear, bee and beaver. It has been done. I have always thought that the second half of the alphabet has been underrepresented. For the past 2 years I have been writing these stories highlighting some of the odd letters in the alphabet along with some unique, but real, animals.
I have been in the professional zoological field for five years. When the second half of the year comes around I have heard teachers comment on how it is difficult to find something surprising to read to their students and at the same time relatable.
Below is each of the stories main characters with a synopsis and excerpt. I hope you enjoy!
Q - Velma Quinn the Valley Quail
Sitting on a tree or sometimes a fence post
An unpopular bird lives on the coast
Her name is Velma Quinn the Valley Quail
Sometimes she hides in the small box of mail
She has a giant feather on top of her head
Looks like she woke up on the wrong side of bed
T - Trey the Tenrec
If you try to play, you will chase him away
So we must be silent and barely sway
When frightened he curls up in a tight bumpy round ball
The best thing to do is pretend you’re a plain white wall
He is a tenrec and his name is Trey
He is prickly and cute and mostly grey
His home is warm Madagascar on the forest floor
He lives in a pile of dirt and leaves and has no door
Right before darkness is when he comes out
He looks kind of funny with a big snout
But everyone has a grand purpose what could his be?
I bet it doesn’t have to do with watching TV!
U - Uberto the Umbrella Cockatoo
“Clean up your room
that is your task
for when we are away,
we can then relax”
Uberto did not like
cleaning his bedroom
it was very dirty
smelling not like perfume
…
To make it go quicker
Uberto turned it into a game
Everything he would pick up
would have a U name
V - Ella the Vulture
Having an imagination is fun
Especially when you can do it in the sun
It doesn’t even cost a single penny
So who cares if you have few or many?
Ella the vulture was a young bird
Playing is what she preferred
She didn’t have a single T.V. station
So she used her own imagination
W - Wade the Water Dragon
So many things to hear
Wade focuses on one sound
What did he overhear?
It was a basset hound
So many things to smell
Wade breaths in really deep
It doesn’t smell that well
Yuck, it’s wild wet sheep
…
So many things to touch
Be careful of the germs
Wade enjoys very much
feeling the gooey worms
T - Tish the X-ray Fish
Although they seem fake
X-ray fish are real
Something so bizarre
Yet, they’re the real deal
…
Tish the X-ray fish
Was a young small fry
About two inches long
And boy did she lie
She wasn’t friendly
Actually quite mean
She had a temper
And thought she was queen
Y - Yago the Yellow Banded Poison Dart Frog
On the other side of the leaf
his waste affects the coral reef
So he turns his trash into treasure
which gives him great pleasure
…
If Yago didn’t reuse his waste
many items would get misplaced
and then the pile would get so high
it would grow and grow and touch the sky
Z - Zach and Zoe the Zebu
Zach and Zoe were born in India near a pond
when they first saw their parents, they did bond
“Go on mom and dad, we’ll follow you
to learn all the things that zebu do”
They learned a lot from their parent zebus
But the time had come for their own debuts,
So off to zebu preschool they went
It was to be an exciting event
Right now all 8 stories are written and will be illustrated once this kickstarter reaches it goal. The 45+ illustrations will take some time, and the book will be sent out early to mid Feb 2013.
Chris Padovano – Is a freelance illustrator who draws the old fashioned way; with a pencil and pen. He has illustrated more than 25 children’s books for authors all over the world.
Here is a sample of his previous work:
Risks and challenges
Publishing a book for the first time is a big challenge, which I have been planning and thinking about for 2 years.
All 8 stories have completed the development phase and Chris the artist will get started with the illustrations once this Kickstarter is fully funded. He can produce 7-8 illustrations a week, and will be completely finished by the end of January. I have the layout for each of the pages explained thoroughly for Chris. Lucky for us, Chris is very flexible and adaptable.
Another challenge is the printing. I have factored in the 4 - 5 business days for the printer plus shipping (3 days) so there should be no time line problems.
Another challenge is reaching the right audience. I would love to share the book with not only households, but with zoological facilities, schools and libraries. By funding this project you can make it happen. Don’t forget to share this project with your animal and science minded friends and teachers.
Every project creator, here on Kickstarter, sets their project's funding goal and deadline. If you would like to help support this project, you can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers' credit cards are charged when the time expires. If the project falls short, no one is charged. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing.
If you pledge $15 or more you get a first edition of this 52 page book.
This kickstarter will help me cover these costs associated with self publishing:
Illustrations
Printing
ISBN
Barcode
Copyright
Shipping
THANK YOU
Please let me know if you have any questions.
I hope to hear from you soon!
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Funding period
- (21 days)