The pen is mightier than the storm
Greene County woman explains science of thunder in children\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s book
A Mount Morris woman wants to help children set aside a fear of storms.
无毛视频淭he Adventures of Charlie: Thunder,无毛视频� written by Natalie Eddy, takes children on a journey through Mason-Dixon Historical Park with Charlie and his new friend, a bird named McDoogle. As they walk through the park, McDoogle teaches third-grader Charlie about what causes thunder and lightning, and why nature needs storms.
Eddy said the goal of the book was to break down the science behind storms in a simple, but accurate way.
Writing a children无毛视频檚 book was 无毛视频渟omething on my bucket list,无毛视频� said Eddy, a retired public relations specialist at West Virginia University.
Also a former newspaper reporter and magazine contributor, Eddy didn无毛视频檛 find the writing part of the process especially difficult, but said getting the idea for Charlie无毛视频檚 first adventure was a bit of a challenge. So, like many writers, Eddy drew inspiration from her own life 无毛视频� and the lives of her two sons.
无毛视频淲hen they were younger, they were both afraid of thunder,无毛视频� she said, 无毛视频淚 just remember talking to them, thinking it would be great if I had some sort of book they could relate to 无毛视频� to help make it less scary for them.无毛视频�
Finding the time to write, even after retirement, was also a challenge. She babysits the 无毛视频渁pple of my eye,无毛视频� her grandson 无毛视频� and the namesake of the main character 无毛视频� 18-month-old Charlie.
It was the toddler无毛视频檚 mom, Natalie无毛视频檚 daughter-in-law Heather Eddy, who brought the 31-page paperback to life.
Heather said she ran photos taken at the real Mason-Dixon Historical Park through an AI program that transformed them into cartoon-type pictures. The program also helped to create the characters and allowed her to tweak how they looked, perfectly encapsulating how Natalie envisioned Charlie and McDoogle.
A template for the book came from Etsy, and Heather used Canva to lay everything out.
While the process 无毛视频渢ook a fair amount of time, it wasn无毛视频檛 super difficult,无毛视频� Heather said.
Though Natalie wrote the book for children ages 4 to 12, Charlie has been entertained by the book 无毛视频渜uite a few times无毛视频� already, according to his mom.
And, there could be a few more to entertain him. Natalie said she has plans for a series of 无毛视频淭he Adventures of Charlie无毛视频� books, with the second tentatively slated for release later this year.
Until then, she hopes this book will help children understand what无毛视频檚 happening in the sky during a thunderstorm.
无毛视频淚 think when kids understand the science, it will make it a lot less scary for them,无毛视频� Natalie said.
无毛视频淭he Adventures of Charlie: Thunder无毛视频� is available for purchase on Amazon.