Fairness message in new children’s illustrated book

A Wetherby area author has written a new illustrated children’s book about the importance of fairness and sharing.
By Janet Harrison
Published 21st Jul 2021, 14:02 BST

Rory Ffoulkes book - Sarah The Spectacular Squirrell - is illustrated by Irene Silvino and published by I&G Press and aimed at primary children.

Ffoulkes said: “First and foremost, Irene and I wanted to create a truly fun book that primary school-age children would love.

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“And which their parents, grandparents and so forth will really enjoy reading to them out loud.

“But there’s undoubtedly a message in there for children and adults alike inspired by Gandhi’s quote ‘In a gentle way, you can shake the world’; and the idea that we all have it in our power to improve the world we live in, even if in very small ways.”

Sarah The Spectacular Squirrel is about a greedy squirrel who learns important lessons about sharing.

But, on a deeper level, Sarah The Spectacular Squirrel holds up a mirror to elements of society that put the pursuit of super-wealth and personal gain ahead of civilised values, like caring for others, fairness and helping the less fortunate.

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Rory came up with the story of Sarah The Spectacular Squirrel off-the-cuff while putting his eldest daughter, Issy, to bed one night four years ago.

The story was received so enthusiastically - first by Issy and then her younger sister, Georgia - that Rory started exploring the idea of transforming it into an illustrated children’s book.

Rory scoured the internet for an illustrator that would be the perfect fit for the story and started collaborating with the much sought-after Irene Silvino in January 2020, in the period before the first UK Covid lockdown.

Technology and a determination to make the book happen allowed Rory and Irene to continue working on Sarah The Spectacular Squirrel without significant disruption.

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A large international commercial publisher made an offer in autumn 2020, but Rory and Irene instead opted to publish with the independently-minded I & G Press because of its dedication to high quality and mission to make the world a better place through beautiful stories.

Sarah The Spectacular Squirrel is available to buy from Amazon for £6.99.