Like many parents Sinéad Murphy enjoyed making up stories for her daughter but unlike most parents she went a step further and has published one of these stories, ‘A Tiger Named Lee’.
ow Sinead is going to read that story at a special session for young children and their their parents in An Tain Arts Centre on Saturday January 29th at 12pm.
"I wrote the story for my daughter Cara Mae when she was four,” says Sinéad, who works as a freelancer in the television and film industry.
"I wrote it to show her that it’s okay to be afraid of things but that these fears are not always as bad as we fear and can be overcome. It’s got quite a powerful message for kids.”
‘A Tiger Named Lee’ tells the story of a timid little tiger who lives with his Mum in a tree-top house, safe from the dangers of the forest below. One night they are blown to the ground during a storm and Lee must face his fears to help her.
Sinead, who is originally from Forkhill and now lives in Dundalk, sent the manuscript off to publishers Tiny Tree in England and was delighted when they accepted it.
The book is illustrated by the young English illustrator Shannon Cresham who brings the story to life, with beautiful drawings of all the jungle animals that Lee encounters.
“It was a passion project,” says Sinead of the book, which was published last year. “It’s one thing to have an idea and another to follow it through.”
She was supposed to go to London for the launch last year but unfortunately wasn’t able to d so due to the pandemic.
It marks her debut as a children’s author, although she readily admits that it’s very different from her usual work which is largely fixed in the horror genre!
Her daughter Cara Mae, who is now nine, is delighted to see the story which her Mum wrote for her in print and has enjoyed reading it to her little cousins, says Sinead.
She is looking forward to reading the story for the young audience in An Tain and answering all their questions.
‘A Tiger Named Lee’ is on sale in Roe River Books, and Easons, and copies are also available from An Tain Arts Centre and Storm in a Teacup in Blackrock.
