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Ponoka woman writes children’s book about being safe during pandemic

Book appropriate for ages three to eight, says author
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Christine Orme, of Ponoka, recently wrote the book ‘We Need More Toilet Paper.’ Contributed graphic

A Ponoka woman recently wrote a book to explain how children can be safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“So many people have kids and everything right now is confusing to them,” said Christine Orme, who works at the Ponoka hospital.

“This was just a nice little story put together to help kids understand social distancing, hygiene and working together. The main message is that we’re all in this together.”

The book, intended for ages three to eight, is about a family of dogs coping with the pandemic and aims to deliver its message in a “non-frightening” way.

“Having the puppies in there is something the kids pay more attention to,” she said.

The family of cairn terriers discovers new ways to keep busy at home, to cover coughs and sneezes, and to always wash their paws.

Orme first got the idea when a friend of hers from San Antonio, DeAnne DiCesare Edlund, who has the same breed of dog, posted cartoons of her pets on Facebook.

“She was doing these wonderful cartoons and I said to her, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to put a storyline to this for a children’s book?’ She said to go ahead, so one weekend I started writing at 10 on Saturday and I finished it at about 4 in the afternoon on Sunday,” said Orme.

“It was written in just my two days off and I think I wanted to keep working on it because it took my mind off of everything that goes on at work.”

After finishing the book, she sent copies to her two writer friends and both encouraged her to publish it.

“I said to them, ‘I don’t know anything about publishing.’ They said, ‘Don’t worry we’ll do it for you.’ Within a week the book was up on Amazon and had been published,” she said.

The book has received positive feedback so far.

“The sales have been really good and there’s been a great response so far. It’s a really easy way parents could explain a lot of what’s going on to their kids.”

The eBook can be found at www.amazon.com/We-Need-More-Toilet-Paper-ebook/dp/B086R4ZN4G.



sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com

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Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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