Despite his own struggles with literacy, a 41-year-old Okotoks man is sharing life lessons through the pages of a colourful children’s book.
Mark Williams, who was diagnosed with Carpenter syndrome as an infant, penned six short stories about African animal friends using kindness to overcome challenges from bullying to fighting forest fires in his book Adventures of the Jungle Buddies, published last spring.
“It’s about six animals that get together and help solve problems and go on adventures,” said Williams of his first publication. “They become really good friends with each other.”
Carpenter syndrome is a condition characterized by the premature fusion of certain skull bones, abnormalities of the fingers and toes and other developmental issues.
“I can’t say big words, I’ve got really bad knees and my bone structure is not normal like other people,” he said. “I was born with six fingers (on each hand) and six toes (on each foot). I couldn’t walk until I was a couple (years) old. I normally read children’s books because I can’t read adult books.”
While Carpenters syndrome impacted Williams’ bone structure, muscle development and cognitive abilities, it hasn’t hindered his imagination.
“I love using my imagination – I have a good imagination,” he said. “I decided since I love animals so much that I would write a book about animals.”
After a dislocated knee resulted in Williams losing his job at a popular fast food chain, he needed to find a way to make an income.
Williams, who receives service from the Foothills Advocacy In Motion (FAIM) Society which supports adults with developmental disabilities, keeps busy with bowling, swimming, his guinea pig Wookiee and volunteering at Pet Smart.
He wants to become more independent and eventually live on his own.
With a love for writing, due to the encouragement of a teacher who got him into creative writing in his younger years, Williams thought penning a children’s book was the perfect solution.
He created important messages for children using his favourite animals as characters after having researched their habitats, behaviours and how they hunt.
“It’s about how to be a good friend, how to help one another out and it helps with bullying because there’s a story in there about bullying,” he said. “I want kids to have a great time reading this book. I want kids to learn that if they have a dream go for it and if they have problems they know what to do. Each story has a little lesson to it.”
In addition to writing the stories, Williams drew the images on each page with help from one of his FAIM job coaches, Pauline Ash.
“They wanted more money to illustrate so we decided to do it ourselves,” he said.
The two combined bright watercolour paints for the background with Williams’ fingerprints for the animals.
“I was going to draw them completely with bodies but my drawings are big,” he said. “I get in a habit of drawing too big.”
After being invited to book readings at the Okotoks Public Library, local schools and a daycare in Calgary, Williams sold all but five of the 100 books he had printed.
Eager to print another 100 copies, Williams is seeking ways to fundraise the approximately $1,500 needed.
Copies of Adventures of the Jungle Buddies are available for purchase at amazon.ca, indigo.ca and chapters.ca for about $25.
