A Paisley artist and author is delighting children with her new book.
Karen Herbison, who runs H-Arts, created the character of Tillie the naughty fairy and Eddie the stinky elf to support her children Karrie and Ben.
Karrie has dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and Ben has dyslexia and dyspraxia and she used the characters to help them with problem solving, challenges and to celebrate their diversity.
Now she’s self-published the first book of the pair, Tillie The Naughty Fairy and Her Grandpa’s Teeth, which has been edited by Sue Kirkwood and illustrated by well-known Renfrew artist Kevin Cantwell.
Karen said: “This is a character I designed and created thirty years ago for and with my first child Karrie.
“Tillie went on to be very useful in supporting Karrie. Eddie was added to the tales when my first son, Ben was born.
“Karrie and I used to dream and talk about “making a book” with Tillie and now, in collaboration with two fellow Paisley creatives that dream is being realised.
“The book has features to support wee people and their adults managing the challenges of dyslexia and to encourage participation, story-making, imagination, and even early drama activity. It also has ongoing prompts for adults who are perhaps a little shy of bringing story books to life.”
The inside dedication page has been designed by Karen’s niece, Emma Johnston. Karen said she plans to continue this in future books and included dedications to fans of the characters and people she’s met at workshops.
The books have been self-published via Ingram Spark, which is linked to distributors, Gardner’s. It is now listed and selling well with Waterstone’s, Amazon, and all major book-sale sites.
Karen held an official book launch at the recent Tannahill Arts Festival which she said went down well.
She said: “The kids seemed to really enjoy the book, we had lots of sales and signatures to do, and they were getting busy with the activity sheets I’ve developed for parents, nurseries and schools to download.
“For me, the most important factor is the realisation of a long-standing dream with my girl.
“Sales further than our immediate circles are a huge bonus, but we do want to give it the best chance possible as children absolutely delight in the stories and sessions I do with the puppets which I created ten years ago.
“We are truly delighted with online sales and have been working hard to be ready for visiting many delightful, little bookshops once the website is up and running.”
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