Inspiration behind: Fred's Friends Hold a Contest

Meet the Inspiration behind my children's book:

Fred's Friends Hold a Contest


Fred's Friends Hold a Contest is a perfect springtime read, if you want to pick up a copy, you can find it on Amazon.ca at: https://www.amazon.ca/Freds-Friends-Contest-Julia-Coldwell/dp/B08D51CK92/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RA9WBDIAESJ0&dchild=1&keywords=fred%27s+friends+hold+a+contest&qid=1597939110&sprefix=fred%27s+friends%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-1 

This is my first and currently only children's book so far (as of April 2024). The idea for this book came to me unexpectedly during the 2020 pandemic around Easter, hence the bunnies. My sister and I had previously painted these little ceramic bunnies at a local shop where you pay for whatever item you selected to paint and then at that time get three complimentary paint colours to use (you could pay extra for more colours, and they may have changed the number you can choose since then). She painted the little yellow bunny with pink hearts and perky ear, and I painted the blue and purple bunny with the floppy ears. 

The fluffy pink bunny is a gift my mother bought for me and younger family members, but this one failed to wind up and hop. It was probably played with in the store too much, damaged upon delivery, or simply defective one. At this time, I was recovering from an injury myself, and felt poorly about throwing it away simply because it did not hop as it was made to do. I thought about how easily someone might discard it simply because it lacked the ability to do something. Now, I do not even really like stuffed animals a whole lot, but this was 2020, everyone was stuck inside and feeling many feelings about their circumstances and the world as a whole. My injury was also making me feel quite a lot of disappointment, because I had just graduated with good grades from University, and with this injury, I felt like my life had taken an unexpected turn into a difficult period of time and recovery. I had to learn a lot about pacing myself and slowing down (which takes many reminders when the rest of your environment is still telling you to go at breakneck speed). 

So, I began drawing draft versions of this little pink bunny rabbit, and decided he would be a male rabbit, to challenge another stereotype and stigma of his pink coloured fur. Then I decided the personality of the blue, floppy eared rabbit to be a shy friend of Fred the bunny, named Alfie. I named the yellow, more outgoing one, Jean. My mother commented that the names were somewhat old fashioned, which was a funny choice in a modern book about acceptance and supporting others with different abilities. Although, I believe that framing any worthy cause in the name of love and friendship can connect various generations regardless of our historic values on "normalcy". 

I completed the drafts and drew the surroundings on the computer so it is now a mixture of computer and pencil drawings by hand. The finished book is adorable, I love how it turned out. I am especially proud of the positive messages the book is meant to inspire in readers, as well as the insightful questions in the back of the book. These questions are meant for teachers and parents to ask their children if they so choose to aid in their understanding and interaction with the book. I know this is a large part of what teachers and librarians do in schools when reading to elementary students, so I thought it would be a helpful addition to the story. 

I really hope the positive message resonates with any reader and they find something enjoyable from reading this book.



 

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