Kid’s book for charity
A new children’s book about city kids adjusting to country life will help raise money for a charity supporting farmers.
Released just in time for Christmas, “The Extraordinary Tom Fink” is the second book in a series produced by Ripplebrook author Karen Casey and Garfield artist Guy Price.
One dollar from every book sold goes to Aussie Helpers, a charity providing financial and psychological support to farmers affected by weather and market extremes.
A second, fully illustrated edition of Karen’s original book, “The Extraordinary, Unordinary Gum Tree”, has also been released.
“It was always the long-term plan to release a series of books that would raise money on a long-term basis,” said Karen. “The crisis for farmers is ongoing and, living in Gippsland, it’s something I see and hear about in my own neighbourhood. The stories are farm-based and have Australian nature themes, so they’re good fit for this cause.”
In “The Extraordinary Tom Fink”, readers will join Polly, James and little Peg as they discover the magic of their new country home with the help of an extraordinary friend and his party of unordinary animals. This is the story of how “The Extraordinary, Unordinary Gum Tree” came to be.
Karen, a former journalist, had her first unpublished manuscript long-listed for the Australian Vogel Literary Award. She has since released three books - two in the children’s book series and a humorous travel memoir “The Misadventures of the Travelling Quirkus”.
Garfield artist Guy Price created the covers and internal illustrations for both books in the children’s series. He has done murals and illustrations for many local businesses and bands, and is building his folio of private work for a solo exhibition in 2020.
Guy said doing the book series was challenging but rewarding.
“The Extraordinary Tom Fink” is now available at Need2Read, Warragul; The Willow Branch, Drouin; Revive Health and Fitness Studio, Drouin; and The Three Cheeky Monkeys, Yarragon as well as online.