The Tale of Ole Green Eyes

You never know what will happen when you are on Facebook. Sometimes it's good; sometimes it's not. About two weeks ago, a good thing happened to me on Facebook.


There I was, reading away, responding to several posts, liking some, happily wasting a few minutes before returning to writing. One of my friends, a new friend and fellow writer, Cathy Kennedy, popped up on chat. She was so excited. Copies of her first children's book, The Tale of Ole Green Eyes, arrived in the mail. She wanted to share her thrill at being able to hold her book in her hands. (I don't know that feeling yet. I can only hold my manuscript.)

One question led to another and I asked Cathy what her book was about. A children's story set in Appalachia. Hmm. I'm getting more interested in Appalachian literature, so naturally I was intrigued. I asked where I could read about the book. Next thing I know, Cathy had emailed me the complete manuscript. Wow! I could now enjoy her joy.

Remember, my youngest daughter is in her thirties and her little pink peanut won't be born until March 2011. So I don't have much current knowledge of children's literature.

What I do know is this tale is charming. Great-Grandma Sarah tells Brittany and Nicole a scary story about a black panther named Ole Green Eyes that lived near her house in East Tennessee when Sarah was a child. Naturally, any story about a panther has to inspire goosebumps and thrill-chills in young listeners. Midnight, the family cat, lies next to the girls and listening to the story too.

One fall day, the girls and their grandparents go out to the orchard to pick apples. The girls wander off, picking and eating apples. They laugh at their grandfather's warning about wild animals in the woods. The wind rises when the sun began going down, rustling leaves and stirring the imagination. The girls run for the safety of the old farmhouse when Nicole screams that Old Green Eyes is after them. "Mew" says Midnight the cat.

As I said, it is adorable. The watercolor illustrations, like the cover above, enhance the story.

Good job, Cathy. For those of my readers who have children, you can buy The Tale of Ole Green Eyes at Amazon or on Cathy's site, which is linked above. It is published by Mirror Publishing.