By Tyler Marr

Area sisters publish, launch first children’s book

Apr 16, 2017 | 12:00 PM

Two sisters from Shellbrook launched their first self-published children’s book to a crowd of eager giggling children at the John M. Cuelenaere Public Library Saturday.

Written by Laurie Muirhead and illustrated by her sister Debora Johnson, Lullaby Lilly tells the story of a young girl who yearns for lullabies, but at the inability of her family to sing enough to keep her satisfied, embarks on creating her own despite not knowing how to write.

Lilly is based on the true character of a young bubbly nine-month-old girl from Minnesota who inspired Muirhead to begin writing the book.

Though her first children’s picture title, Muirhead has written previous poetry books, but through working in schools and having a passion for children, putting together a piece of children’s literature has been a goal for Muirhead for some time.

She said the book centres around the theme of achieving whatever you set your mind to and touts strong mother-daughter relationships.

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“In the end, she wins the Nobel prize for literature so anything is possible. I think mother-daughter relationships are so important too. A little girl power,” she added.

Muirhead said to her, writing was a personal pastime and something she has always done and hoped the young girls who see her present the book could be inspired to do the same.

With self-publishing a first for the duo, they said the journey has been an educational experience and something they aspire to continue to pursue in the future.

“It has been a real journey,” Johnson said, who works nights as a nurse.

Johnson, who took art classes with renowned painter George Glenn while attaining her nursing degree, explained how she spent much of her free time during night shifts studying the art, fell in love with it and jumped on board when asked to help with the book..

“I do still life and raw, organic painting…so it was getting my head around doing people and actions that took me quite a long time,” Johnson said, noting this was the first book she has illustrated.

As for working on the project as a sister act, the two were very proud and said there was something special about going through the process together.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr