MBC recently had some surprising news for me; she reminded me that this year is my 35th birthday! That’s right, it’s been 35 years since I popped into MBC’s imagination.
MBC often tells the story of how, in the spring of 1982, her mother-in-law, Dede Weldon Casad, suggested that she should create an armadillo character for children and write a series of books, using the armadillo to visit Texas sites and teach about Texas history and geography.
A few weeks later, MBC came face to face with an armadillo on the shores of Lake Bridgeport. That encounter convinced her it was a sign……time to write about armadillos! She visited the Grand Prairie Public Library and researched armadillos, aided by librarian Joan Dobson, and enlisted the help of two friends who were public school teachers, Ben and Juddi Gilmore. She completed the manuscript of Bluebonnet of the Hill Country on her birthday, September 15…..so that date became my birthday, too!
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the beginning of the Bluebonnet Armadillo Adventure Series, MBC and I will be taking several strolls down memory lane, and sharing these with you. We’ll be posting “the story behind the story” about each of the books. We invite you to come along and share these special memories with us.
To kick-off our celebration, we have a special offer on this website. The CD of MBC reading the first three original stories in the series, Bluebonnet of the Hill Country, Bluebonnet at the Alamo, and Bluebonnet at the State Fair of Texas, is offered at a reduced price, and includes a free study guide and bookmark.
Bluebonnet Audio CD
MBC says this CD makes a great gift for teachers and librarians to use for story time in the classroom, and it’s also great for parents and grandparents to use for bedtime stories, as well as car trips. Check out “Special Offers” on this website for details. http://bluebonnetarmadillo.com/order-books/special-offers/
The original stories were illustrated by Pat Binder and published by Eakin Press. MBC will be sharing more about these stories in future blogs; two of the stories have been revised and reillustrated. The original Bluebonnet of the Hill Country and Bluebonnet at the Alamo books are now available only on Amazon. www.amazon.com
Bluebonnet of the Hill Country
Bluebonnet at the Alamo
Bluebonnet at the State Fair of Texas is available from Pelican Publishing Company. www.pelicanpub.com
Bluebonnet at the State Fair of Texas
MBC and I are looking forward to our stroll down memory lane this year as I celebrate my 35th year. Hope you’ll join our celebration, and remember…..”Keep reading and writing!” Bluebonnet Armadillo
