A cuddly toy was the inspiration for a young man to draw; the drawings acted as a catalyst for the father to write an adventure; the result is ‘Liono, the little lion who loves flowers’
Fresh from the acclaim that accompanied his autobiography ‘Holywood Star: the life and times of a rock and roll misadventurer’ Northern Irish writer Eamon Nancarrow has delivered nine stories, in one adventure, with a theme that celebrates diversity.
But Eamon didn’t do it alone! All the illustrations were drawn by his five-year-old son Teelin (right) as Eamon recalls: “Teelin’s talents were spotted by his teachers at the age of three. They showed us a Christmas tree he’d drawn and were really impressed with his different way of capturing the scene. Since then he’s needed little or no encouragement.”
The one character Teelin regularly sketched was ‘Liono’ his favourite cuddly toy. “Liono has always been a constant in the family’s life and I’m sure all parents can relate to this: if Liono went missing the sweat used to break on our foreheads knowing that if he did not turn up there would be hell to pay.”
After completing his autobiography Eamon wanted to sink his literary teeth into something different and suggested to Teelin that they could send Liono on an adventure.
“The idea was for Teelin to draw an image and for me to write a tale around the scene,” Eamon explained. “On average it took about ten to fifteen minutes for Teelin to finish his picture while I took far longer! My inability to be as quick vexed his youthful impatience and his constant ‘Are you finished Dad, are you finished Dad?’ was a little challenging. Never work with children or animals, even toy ones!!”
The central theme is Liono’s feelings about being different: his mane is not the same colour as the other lions; he would rather play with animals than hunt them and he also adores flowers. So when Liono’s mother tells him about the dandelion, a wonderful plant that is named after lions, Liono feels compelled to find it.
During his African-based hunt Liono meets a colourful collection of curious and challenging characters. Each has their own special flower and each has a different way of reacting with Liono. These meetings help the little lion discover who he really is and how everyone has a part to play in this world.
‘Liono’ is an ideal reading book for children (6-11) and those who still enjoy being read to.
You can preview two chapters from the book here: liono.showcaseuk.tv
No comments yet.