Newbury author publishes first children’s Book

inspired by the people and places of West Berkshire.

Local author Toni Kent is celebrating the publication of her first children’s book, Mr Reuben and the Mole, a tale about a fine English gentleman whose annual party is in grave danger thanks to a garden invasion led by a talking mole called Michael.  It’s a fun read aimed to delight children and adults alike, and it owes much to the West Berkshire countryside.

The main character; Mr Reuben, is countryman who wouldn’t look out of place at the Berkshire Show and was inspired by Toni’s move to our great county.  We spoke to her about what exactly prompted her to write this story.

“I grew up in Basingstoke,” explains Toni, “and then lived in Reading for a long time so always thought I was a ‘townie’ at heart, until we moved to Compton and I fell in love with village life.  As my twin passions are language and people I was immediately intrigued by how different living in the countryside is – from having a closer connection with nature to the fashion!”

Ah yes, fashion is something that looms large in Mr Reuben’s life – he is described by Toni as “always impeccably dressed”.

“Mr Reuben is, in part, inspired by a gentleman that I used to work with as he wore the most incredibly well-cut tweed jackets but it was the Berkshire Show that really did it for me; seeing stalls selling ‘country wear’ I wanted to create a character that was correctly, and beautifully, turned out, even when he’s at war with a garden full of moles!”

Given that Toni’s first book, Reasons to be Cheerful, Part One, was aimed at adult readers – why write a book for children?  As quite often happens, it was prompted by people close to home: her children.

“After my daughter was born I fell back in love with children’s stories and we used to make up little rhymes and silly stories together, some of which I scribbled down and photocopied to send to my (very understanding) friends to see if their children would enjoy them too.  This progressed to visiting the local primary school to try the stories out in front of an audience that I knew would be honest – if a five year old doesn’t like your story they will tell you!”

So what did the children think – did Mr Reuben get their seal of approval?

“I think what they love is that Mr Reuben thinks he’s far cleverer than animals and gets himself in a terrible state when he realises that they are just as smart (if not smarter) than he is.  There’s plenty of silliness and we’ve had a lot of fun giving the animals different voices and pretending to be Mr Reuben when he explodes.  The children also helped me come up with some great plot lines for Mr Reuben’s other adventures.”

We asked Toni when the next Mr Reuben instalment is due, and the answer was quite exciting – we even got a sneak preview!

“There are several more Mr Reuben stories that the children are badgering me to get published, and by chance I came across an incredible local illustrator; Candida Kennedy, who immediately understood the concept of Mr Reuben and sent me some sketches.  We’ve decided to collaborate and so the next story “Mr Reuben and the Naughty Horses” should be ready for summer 2015.”

Mr Reuben and the Mole is a raucous read for children aged 6-12 and is available on Amazon via the following link http://bit.ly/MrReuben  If you want to keep up with Toni’s latest news and publications, you can follow her on Twitter @tonijkent or visit her blog www.tonikent.blogspot.co.uk

We have two signed copies to give away to lucky readers click here to enter the competition