NEWS & EVENTS
Book Signing with Valerie L. Egar
Saturday, November 30
1pm-3pm
Local author Valerie L. Egar will here Saturday, November 30 from 1- 3 p.m. to sign Oh No! Reindeer Flu!, her recently released children’s book. This entertaining holiday tale is about enthusiastic huskies who declare an emergency and volunteer to pull Santa’s sleigh when the reindeer fall ill on Christmas Eve.
Egar, a resident of Cornish, Maine, was inspired to write the story by a husky she adopted from a shelter in 1993. “I wasn’t looking for a dog,” she said, “but I saw a sign at work that a 6 year old husky had been at a local shelter for a month. Her time there was almost up and I couldn’t get her out of my mind.” Egar called the shelter and adopted Keeka the next day. She taught me so much,” Egar laughs. “I knew nothing about huskies and in the beginning, she outsmarted me all the time.”
Egar’s back yard was fenced and when it snowed, she was amazed at the change in Keeka. “She loved snow! She raced around, making deep furrows. She was in her natural element.” Looking at a Christmas card with reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh that Christmas, Egar wondered, “Why not huskies?”
The idea remained at the back of her mind until she retired from her legal career. Determined to follow her lifelong dream of writing children’s books, her idea that huskies would eagerly embrace the job of pulling Santa’s sleigh became Oh No! Reindeer Flu!
Illustrated by Canadian artist Tamara Campeau and printed in Maine using 100% wind power, the book has been enthusiastically reviewed nationally. Publishers Weekly noted Campeau’s “expressive artwork” and the “endearing dog characters,” stating, “[T]his holiday tale offers an unexpected twist on a classic story.” Kirkus Reviews commented, “[T]he dogs steal the show,” and characterized the book as “A lively holiday tale that may make youngsters wonder why Santa ever used reindeer in the first place.”
Egar is thrilled with the positive reviews, but is happiest with the photos she is beginning to receive showing children enjoying the book. “They’re the ones I aim to please. If children enjoy the book, my heart is happy.”
For more information or to reserve copies of the book, give us a call at (603)569-6030.
