In celebration of Book Lovers Day, Regina-based author, Jackie Arnason, will launch her first children’s picture book, Hambone – Why Pigs Have Curly Tails, on August 9, 2020, partner published with OC Publishing.
The tale is one of many that Arnason made up for her children more than 50 years ago.
“I started making up stories way back when I was a little girl,” said Arnason. “But when my children were very small I would be putting them to bed and they would ask me to tell them a story. An idea would just pop into my head and away we’d go.”
Even though it’s a long time in the making, Hambone’s message is still relevant today.
“Hambone, with some friends along the way, shows us that when we work together and show kindness to others we can all help each other on our journeys,” said Laura Shepherd, a literacy/numeracy specialist in Regina.
When Arnason was a little girl growing up in Regina in the “Dirty Thirties” she was the eldest of seven children.
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| Author, Jackie Arnason |
“Reading kept me out of mischief,” she said. “We didn’t have much but I would escape to the library and spend hours … I read about three books a week. My mission was to read all the books on the shelves, from A to Z.”
Arnason’s grandmother wrote articles for The Atlantic and her grandfather was a contributor to the 37th edition of Webster’s Dictionary. She says she learned her love of words from him.
“I would sit on his lap, we would read the dictionary and we would pick out words and I would learn their meanings,” said Arnason.
There is always a gentle life lesson or a moral to each story that she tells. In Hambone, she says, “I want readers to realize that no matter how crazy your dream is, if you work hard enough, it can come true. And, on your way to realizing your dream, there may even be a special twist in the end and your dream will be better than you could even imagine. In short; be kind to others, believe in your dreams and don’t be a bully.”
Arnason grew up in Regina and during her professional life worked as an office administrator for various businesses, her most memorable being the Saskatchewan Centre for International Languages where she ran the translation service. As a new author, she has joined the Wascana Writer’s Guild and the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild. Hambone will be available to order through online retail stores such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Chapters/Indigo and through local book stores. For more information visit https://www.ocpublishing.ca/jackie-arnason.html.
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