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By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
Westwood children’s author Jamie Laliberte is preparing to release her second children’s book, “The Great Jump-A-Lump-A-Thon.”
The children’s book tells the story of two monkeys who are world famous jumpers. Despite winning many awards in jumping competitions, the two become nervous when they realize they are going to face bigger, better monkeys in an upcoming tournament.
They train twice as hard, more determined than ever to win. They even build a 10-story trampoline behind their house to practice larger and more complex jumps. Despite all of their hard work, they lose the tournament, but were happy when their father lets them know how proud he was about how hard they worked.
For Laliberte, she was inspired to write the book after her grad school professor pushed her harder than anyone in her life to become a better writer. She learned a lot from her professor, including the importance of overcoming obstacles.
“[The book] really teaches that sometimes it is not about winning, it is about overcoming obstacles,” Laliberte said.
The book will be on sale soon, according to Laliberte. She has finished writing the story, and her husband is now hard at work creating illustrations to accompany the book.
“The Great Jump-A-Lump-A-Thon” is Laliberte’s second published children’s book. Her very first children’s book, “The Picklefoots in Pepal Land,” was released in 2013 while she was in grad school, aided by her husband, who provided illustrations for the book.
The book tells the tale of a magical land ruled by a king searching for a successor. He teaches his sons to rule in a loving way, and to not be afraid of people who are different.
A recurring theme in “The Picklefoots in Pepal Land” is the celebration of what makes every person different and unique. It is a theme Laliberte found inspiration from in her childhood, when she was bullied for being different.
“Growing up, I remember feeling the pain of people being harsh to me because I was different” Laliberte said. “I wanted to write a book that helps kids to not feel alone and to not shine away from being different.”
Her books feature a unique twist: both books feature two copies of each story, only the second copy leaves blank spaces where each character’s name belongs, allowing kids to fill in their own names and become their favorite characters. Laliberte has developed a curriculum that utilizes the special section and the book’s lessons for classroom activities.
“It lets the children own the story” Laliberte said. “They can be the characters they relate to.”
Look out for “The Great Jump-A-Lump-A-Thon,” which will be released soon.
