Sarlo Books Blog 8 – Tammy McFadden

Kindness Week – Tammy McFadden

Another member of the team promoting Kindness Week and kindness throughout the year is Tammy McFadden, a gifted graphic designer and illustrator.  The book was written as part of a much larger effort, in hopes that Kindness Week will be an annual celebration in Sault Ste. Marie going forward. . Tammy was also happy to prepare the layout for “Kindness Is Sault Ste Marie”, a new book written by Peter Vaudry.

Tammy, a member of Batchewana First Nation, Marten Clan, completed the illustrations for the children’s book ‘Odin the Owl Encourages His Community to be Kind’. Always loving art and painting since she was young, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Algoma University College (Laurentian University) and a Advertising Art & Graphic Design Diploma from Sault College of Applied Arts &Technology. After working for a year as a student designer at the Algoma University College Communications Office, Tammy has spent the last twenty-five years in her career at Cliffe Printing Inc. as a Graphic Designer, in Prepress and Computer Tech Support. In addition, early in her career, she held art exhibitions and continues to accept private commissions and create gifts.

There was no hesitation when I asked Tammy to volunteer with Jennifer Barone and I in creating a children’s book on kindness. The result is ‘Odin the Owl Encourages his Community to be Kind’, a book Tammy describes as a “ lovely story about an Owl who is a mentor to his forest community, calling on them to perform acts of kindness.  There are two antagonist characters, a fox and a crow, who deliberately try to sabotage everyone’s day.  Kindness spreads through the forest, as all the animals help each other regardless of the fox and crow’s antics.  In the end, wait I can’t give away the end!”

Tammy, whose Ojibway name translated is ‘First Morning Star’ explains the choice of demonstrating kindness in a forest setting: “I preferred the animals and forest for my illustrations because of my love for nature and thought that it would be an endearing perspective that the children reading would enjoy. I was also very excited for the choice in consideration of my grandchildren. My grandson Kayce, who is two years old, carries his beloved “Foxy” stuffed animal with him morning and evening, and must have “Foxy” with him while he sleeps. It was my gift to him as a baby.  He has really enjoyed sneak peeks of the artwork.”

She says: “The title was chosen after the story and drawings were completed.  If I can speak for everyone, we felt it was best to have a good sense of the book before giving it a title.  Our next meeting entailed us brainstorming on what was most important and meaningful, so readers could immediately understand the point of the book: ‘Odin the Owl: Encourages his Community to be Kind’.  The takeaway is that the entire community is mindful of kindness to one another… I was most interested in the character of Sonny the skunk who was bullied, but found his smile and warmed heart when others approached him to ask him to join them in their next act of kindness.” 

Tammy further explains that the cover is extremely important because “it reveals the quality and is much like a window revealing what’s inside. It is crucial to someone either choosing to pick up the book or pass it by. The artwork and title must be appealing.” She says in ‘Odin the Owl Encourages his Community to be Kind’,” the cover depicts the heart of the story where the animals are rejoicing in having done their acts of kindness, while the antagonists realize the error of their ways.”

She believes: “The target audience can be anyone actually.  Our family enjoys reading books to our grandchildren, and it’s a much better story time if the book is interesting, creative and well planned. For an age category, I would say that ages 2-12 could benefit from being read to or reading the book, considering the story, quotes and the fact that it’s a picture book.” 

This is the first children’s book that Tammy illustrated. She expressed her feelings: “Having been honored with the task of creating this book has inspired me to want to do more. It’s something I definitely enjoyed. I am happy with the result of the book. I got to dabble in using alcohol ink for the first time. I’ve used a wide assortment of mediums over the years, but chose ink for its vibrancy and dry time. It was rewarding to lay the book out at work with my very own drawing content. I think the book turned out rather sweet. My hope is that it will be a gentle guide to learning and developing, and that reader’s can learn at any point in life, that kindness is emotionally rewarding.”

‘Odin the Owl Encourages his Community to be Kind’ can be ordered on line at www.tagonapress.com. They offer free delivery in Sault Ste. Marie and Area and through Amazon.