Beaver Staff
South Fredericksburgh dairy farmer-turned-children’s author John Sonneveld will be reading and signing his debut book this Saturday at Chill Lifestyle For Kids in Napanee.
Tidelywinks is a story about a premature calf that needed a lot of extra care to survive when she was born.
Sonneveld said all of the details in the story are true, save the ending which speculates the young calf could grow to be a champion at the fair some day.
Sonneveld dedicated the story to his granddaughters Ashley and Emily, who saw the story unfold and who have also learned that not every story has a happy ending like it does. He also enlisted his niece Leenita Babcock to illustrate the story with colourful drawings.
“The story of Tidelywinks was written and illustrated in Napanee. You could say it’s homegrown,” Sonneveld said.
The story has been so popular the first run of publishing already sold out. A second run arrived just in time for this weekend’s event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sonneveld says he has received positive reviews from children, parents, and teachers so far.