Grosvenor teacher, former student create simple, powerful tale

​A Grosvenor School Special Education Resource Teacher and a former student have joined forces to produce a new children's storybook with a positive message for young readers.

Finnigan's Bliss follows a young goat who enjoys the simple pleasures in life.

"Finnigan's mother tells him 'every day, when you wake up, make sure you enjoy every little moment…because those little gifts in life are going to fill your days with bliss,'" said teacher and author Charlotte Jackson.

But when Finnigan's favourite scratching post disappears and the weather outside turns foul, his routine is disrupted; his mind becomes unclear and the little goat starts to cry. In the rain, the goat comes across a small frog, Samuel, who teaches Finnigan to focus on his breathing and clear his mind. The frog also teaches Finnigan to see the foul weather in a different light; rain helps the grass and trees to grow. And if it weren't for the disruption to Finnigan's routine, the goat wouldn't have met his new friend.

Ms. Jackson wrote the story as a means of introducing the concepts of mindfulness and heartfulness to young readers.

"It's a very childlike, whimsical story but it's also about growth mindset, which I am always trying to teach students about here at Grosvenor," Ms. Jackson said. "Growth mindset is having a positive attitude, always trying your best and never giving up. So as much as the story teaches about the mindfulness message of emotional regulation, living in the moment and appreciating that moment, there is also that other message about looking on the bright side of life, even when things get difficult."

When it came to the artwork for the story, the project required a gentle artist who had a way with depicting animals. Ms. Jackson had the ideal artist in mind: student Helen Yang.

"Helen started coming to Grosvenor in Grade 4, and I immediately noticed that this was a very talented little girl," Ms. Jackson said. "She's very artistic and articulate, and she writes beautifully as well."

Helen graduated from Grosvenor and went on to continue her studies at École River Heights School, but Ms. Jackson had been following the ongoing development of Helen's artwork via her Instagram page (@chloehelenart).

"Helen puts a lot of her artwork on that page, and most of it is animal-based. She draws beautiful animals with very humanlike qualities in their expressions. I thought it would be perfect to have her illustrate this book."

Helen put a lot of thought into how each character should look and the overall artistic tone of the story.

"The illustrations were all in watercolour, because we wanted everything to have a gentle look to it," Helen said.

When it comes to illustrating an entire children's book, the process is a lengthy one. Helen produced countless versions of drawings that were in turn composited digitally for the final product. Helen's mother helped with the massive task of assembling the images into the final pages.

"It didn't feel like a job at all," Helen said. "We changed things a lot as we finished the book. When we started out, Finnigan didn't look anything like he does now. But we had a lot of fun making changes with him and turning him into what we imagined him to be."

That's the kind of persistence that ultimately made Finnigan's Bliss a reality.

"I almost gave up several times while writing the book. There were days when I would get discouraged…but I kept persisting," Ms. Jackson said.

"When I'm reading the book to kids, I try to bring in that message as well. You can make your dreams come true if you keep trying."

Finnigan's Bliss is available at McNally Robinson Booksellers, Pineridge Hollow, Prairie Sky Books and online at Amazon.com and Chapters.Indigo.ca . The book is also available in many WSD school libraries and through the Prince Charles Education Resource Centre.

Regardless of how a student may come across the book, Ms. Jackson hopes  they will benefit from the simple, life-changing concepts of mindfulness and growth mindset.

 "I've been asked who I wrote this book for…and I guess I've realized that in many ways, I wrote it for my younger self. There are so many messages in this book that I probably needed to hear as a child. If we can reach any young child with this story, through the eyes of this little goat that they all seem to love, then I'd be happy."

The author and artist will be holding an official book launch on January 13, 2019, 2 PM at McNally Robinson's Grant Park location.