Jacqueline Swann launched her much-anticipated children’s book Chance and Carter Visit McLean Mill last weekend.
Aside from signing copies of her book out at McLean Mill, Swann also read from her book to a group of children gathered in the visitors’ centre.
Chance and Carter Visit McLean Mill is a story about two four year-old boys who go running after a rabbit and find themselves lost in the woods. The story tells the tale of what they did when they became lost.
Swann says the inspiration for this storybook came directly from her grandsons.
“I was visiting McLean Mill about three years ago with my two-year-old twin grandsons and family. The boys saw the rabbits. Then the rabbits were gone into the woods. The story idea came to me as I watched their disappointment.
“That evening I wrote the first draft of the story. I thought about how to illustrate it. I decided on photos because I wanted to show the actual mill site,” Swann said.
“I realized the twins couldn’t help with the photos for the story until they were older. I waited and waited for two whole years. Last August, when the twins were four, I read them the story and asked if they were willing to be in the photos. They co-operated well for their age but Erica Watson, our photographer, did need to take many more photos than the 24 which we used for the story.”
Three months after the photo session she read the first draft of the newly illustrated book and showed it to her grandsons.
“Chance said, ‘but Grandma, that never happened.’
“Carter piped up, ‘We weren’t lost.’ So rest assured that no children were harmed in the making of the book. It is truly a work of fiction.”
The book costs $12 and is available at McLean Mill and also at Swann’s Lida Organic Farm booth at the Spirit Square Farmers’ Market at Harbour Quay on Saturdays.
