Author Marlet Ashley and illustrator Kate Brown have published a fourth book for children set in the Comox Estuary and environs.
Penelope Piper’s Great Adventure, third in their series Revelry on the Estuary, is set along Brooklyn Stream where it empties into the estuary.
While The Interlopers and Trumpeters’ Tribulations, the first two books in Marlet and Kate’s series Revelry on the Estuary involve exclusively the waterfowl of the Comox Estuary, Penelope Piper’s Great Adventure focuses on the companionship of a creature from a stream in the shaded woods and a little sandpiper.
Penelope Piper just can’t seem to follow instructions. She is bored with life in the flock of sandpipers — the endless dances, rehearsals, and orders that fill her days.
When a new friend invites Penelope on a journey into the dark woods far from her home in the Comox Estuary, the little sandpiper is thrilled. Little does she know what lies ahead on Penelope Piper’s Great Adventure.
Also by Ashley and Brown are The Interlopers (2012), Trumpeters’ Tribulations (2012), Must be Christmas (2012), and Penelope Piper’s Great Adventure (2013). Watch for Henri Sings the Blues coming soon.
Books are available in Courtenay at Laughing Oyster Books, Whale’s Tale Toys, and the Information Centre; in Comox at Blue Heron Books and the Comox Museum; and in Campbell River at Serendipity Garden and Gifts.
Brown, the illustrator, studied art and design in London, U.K., and developed a career as an interior designer, product designer, and clothing designer. Kate has been involved in designing museums in which exhibited artefacts are brought to life and tell stories to enthral and capture the interest of visitors.
Kate is president and founding member of the Comox Valley Art Group, an organization that encourages artists and the support of local charities through art. Kate lives in Courtenay on the Comox Estuary.
Ashley, the author, is a longtime educator with an MA in English literature and creative writing. She taught creative writing at the University of Windsor and was an instructor of literature and composition at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Her publications include a number of short stories and poetry in a variety of literary publications, and she has authored the Canadian edition of the textbook Literature and the Writing Process published by Pearson Prentice Hall, Toronto.
Ashley was one of three finalists for the 2012 John Kenneth Galbraith Literary Award. Marlet lives in Comox.
The book launch for Penelope Piper’s Great Adventure happens this Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Courtenay Library.
— Marlet Ashley, Kate Brown