MCHS art teacher illustrates ‘Bearwin’s Treasures’
PINEVILLE — Theresa Walthall, an art teacher at McDonald County High School, illustrated the recently published children’s book Bearwin’s Treasures, written by her close friend, Becky Baldwin.
Walthall said she remembers a time years ago when she and Baldwin were playing a game at their church and discussing dreams — the seed that planted Bearwin’s Treasures.
“We were playing some game, asking, ‘When you were a child, what would you have said that you’d like to do when you grew up?’ and she said, ‘Write children’s books,’ and I said, ‘Illustrate children’s books.’ And years ago, she said, ‘We’re going to do a job together, we’re going to do a book together.’ And all these years later, ten or 12 years later, we finally did it.”
Walthall said Bearwin’s Treasures is the third book she’s illustrated, with it being the second published book she’s illustrated — the first being “The Cowboy,” which she did in 2010.
Walthall said it felt like the “right time” to act upon her dream.
“It just felt right; it felt like the right time,” Walthall said. “With dreams, you have to choose to act upon them, or sometimes they don’t happen.”
Walthall said she spent a summer illustrating the book, taking her watercolor with her everywhere she went. Walthall noted she illustrated 32 pages in the book, with each page taking about eight hours to complete.
Walthall said one of the most rewarding parts of illustrating Bearwin’s Treasures was feeling that she truly encapsulated the characters Baldwin had created.
“I think my favorite part is when I think personally, as an illustrator, that I did a good job,” Walthall said. “When I feel like I actually captured it. There are some that I know that I got it right. And I’d say that’s the most rewarding thing for me.”
The story features Bearwin, a bear on a journey through the forest. He helps his woodland friends, finds treasures, and learns the importance of lending a helping hand. Baldwin, the author of Bearwin’s Treasures, hopes the book will teach young readers lessons about empathy, kindness, and helpfulness.
“When you put yourself out there to be a helper to your neighbor, it comes back to you,” Baldwin said. “We reap what we sow and we find the help that we need most often when we need it the most. I hope that the little young minds can absorb that in a way that helps them to know we can pause what we’re doing and be a helper.”
Walthall and Baldwin noted that Bearwin’s Treasures may be the first of many books, tinkering with the idea of creating a series based on the colorful characters in the story.
Bearwin’s Treasures is available to purchase on Amazon, walmart. com, and Barnes and Noble.