Anna always walked her dog, Misty, to Lough Allen beside her home. This story was born by the sight of two pieces of bog oak or driftwood in and around the lake. As she sat waiting for Misty to have her daily swim, she pictured the wood pieces as two animals.The shape on the land reminded her of a rabbit or squirrel. Squirrels kept appearing in front of Anna and she took this as a sign she should decide on Squidgy the squirrel.The shape in the water was more shaped like the Loch Ness Monster, and after twenty years, the idea has morphed into little Squidgy the Squirrel and Tweet the Turtle.Anna's final employment was working with groups of parents from different ethnicities, cultures, and creeds. Anna felt that this book might be a way to teach children the importance of being nonjudgmental and embracing differences.Over the decades, people have been displaced from their homes and countries due to war, famine, and employment needs.This is already a fearful, lonely journey for them, and many times they suffer abuse and prejudices from the settled people in the country they arrive.This is normally due to fear and ignorance; hence, if we can start by educating our youth as they are our future, perhaps we can help put an end to all wars.
