My daughter, Ryan, and I wrote a children’s book! Check out Bedtime at the Zoo

When Ryan was in high school, she had a poetry assignment as part of an English class. She had to write 2 dozen poems of all types – haiku, sonnet, etc. One of assignments was to write a nursey rhyme. Due to a concussion from a rather tough soccer game (she’s a beast on the field), I helped her with the last few, including the nursery rhyme.

Together, we wrote the first draft of Bedtime at the Zoo and wrote it using A-Z to identify and describe the animals. We always loved that poem and thought it would make a great nursery rhyme…so that’s what we did! We started working on this project in January – rewriting the poem, researching how to publish a book, creating a storyboard for each page, finding just the right illustrator, working through all the edits, and then publishing the book this September.

Our Inspiration

There isn’t a traditional zoo in Charleston but we do have lots of fun, nontraditional zoos including the Animal Forest at Charles Towne Landing, the Edisto Island Serpentarium, and my favorite: the Center for Birds of Prey. When we want the full zoo experience, we head 2 hours to Columbia to the Riverbanks Zoo.

This background scenery is inspired by Charleston, including the Ravenel Bridge and a skyline full of steeples.

The Animals

We made sure to include our favorite furry animals on the title page. From left to right:

*Junebug is a 9 year old English Cocker Spaniel

*Millie is a 4 year old Goldendoodle

*Rosie is a 10 year old English Cocker Spaniel

For the rest of the animals, most of them you probably know. I provided some information for the ones that might be new to you. Some of them were new to me too.

1. Alligator
2. Birds: Pelican and the Roseate Spoonbill, almost extinct in the 19^th century, this beautiful marsh bird’s population has grown considerably.
3. Cheetah
4. Donkey
5. Elephant
6. Frog
7. Gorilla
8. Horse and Duck
9. Iguana
10. Jackal
11. Koala
12. Lion
13. Monkey
14. Narwhal, my first memory of the “unicorn of the sea” was from the Christmas movie “Elf”.
15. Octopus
16. Panther
17. Quokka are nocturnal marsupials that are native to Australia and are often called the “happiest animal on earth”. (Pronunciation: KWOK-uh)
18. Rabbit
19. Snake
20. Tiger
21. Upupa are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa and have a call of “oop-oop-oop”. (Pronunciation: u-PU-pa)
22. Vulture
23. Walrus
24. The Xalda is an endangered breed of sheep native to Northern Spain and they are known for their large curled horns.  (Pronunciation: SHAHL-da)
25. Yak
26. Zebra