The setting is a small community with close proximity to beaches and small family run shops. The red wagon is a central figure in the family and taken many places and known to the neighbourhood. The inspiration for the book came from a sighting I had of a young child holding a pumpkin while being pulled along a busy street. I felt I could develop something from that hence following him through the seasons. The winter season is in the planning stage and the red wagon is safely tucked away from it. The audience for this would be 4-6 age range but hope it has some appeal to adult readers as well. I look forward to sharing it with my great-grandchildren and get their reaction. Valerie teamed up with pleasure and produced the wonderful images so for that I am very grateful.

I retired from teaching after spending 30 years with primary age children. Their natural inclination to create brought out some early interest in writing. We followed a routine of writing, sharing, revision, editing and final "publishing" of their pieces which they illustrated. Then these became part of the classroom library. There were many wonderful examples of picture book authors to share and discuss with them. Often a local author would visit and inspire the children and see examples of their books. My colleague and I received recognition for this programme from our reading association. I hope that this experience might have encouraged a few to continue writing.