Gran puts brush to paper to write and illustrate new children’s book
WHEN Lisa Pearce was no longer able to attend her weekly art class due to the strict coronavirus lockdown earlier this year she decided to dust off her paint brushes to write and illustrate a children’s story.
Something that started as a hobby to pass the time throughout the lockdown evolved into a published book that resonates with the world, selling more than a thousand of copies, some even being ordered from as far away as Australia.
“The idea was sparked when I sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to my daughter in her garden in April,” said Lisa, from Tredegar.
“My two-year-old grandson stood in the window, looking confused as to why we weren’t coming in.
“Like most families, we are usually so close and for Robin, my grandson, everything must have seemed so bewildering.”
That evening, Lisa decided to illustrate and write a children’s story to simplify the unusual events of 2020 for children, calling it When We Painted Rainbows.
“I worry about the mental health implications the pandemic is having on children, so I wanted to help provide some comfort to those who may be feeling confused.”
The story follows the journey of Robin and his family during the lockdown.
The story unfolds with familiar traits of life over the past few months, painting rainbows, going on lots of walks and clapping for the NHS.
Overwhelmed by the success of the book, Lisa said: “Although the story follows Robin and his family, it really does resonate with most families.”
With the combination of the coronavirus affecting the lungs and the recent diagnoses of a close family member’s Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), a lung disease, Lisa has donated a percentage of the profits to the British Lung Foundation.
Lisa’s book, When We Painted Rainbows is still selling online and throughout shops in South Wales.
She added: “I have received wonderful feedback from parents, carers and even schools. It’s so humbling to think that something that started off as a simple idea is now comforting children across the South Wales Valleys, the rest of the UK and even as far as Australia.”