New Children’s Book from Local Author

Local author/artist Janet Tlachac-Toonen has released her first book that she both illustrated and wrote titled, Sidney the Bear.

“I really want to inspire children’s imagination and encourage them to read. Imagination is one of the building blocks of problem solving,” says Tlachac-Toonen. “The evolution of e-books and internet allows me the opportunity to share my characters and stories with children around the world. It’s wonderful to be able to reach so many children in a positive way.”

Sidney the Bear is a whimsical tale of how Sidney meets his best friend Simon the duck. It is also a story of being happy with who you are. Rated for kids ages 3 to 8, the colorful images in the story showcase Tlachac-Toonen’s artistic style. The original images are created in aquarelle crayon, colored pencil, and pen & ink. Finished drawings are then merged together in Photoshop.

There are two more stories that are currently in the publishing process: The Eggstra Special Family and The Great Caterpillar Caper. The launch for those books will be during the 2015 holiday shopping season. Books are available in hard cover, soft cover, and e-book formats for Kindle, Nook and iPad. To order books, visit outskirtspress.com/staytoond, or zazzle.com/staytoond to order gifts with Tlachac-Toonen’s images.