Keith Ballard, a former headteacher and deacon of the Archdiocese of Liverpool, has recently ventured into the world of children’s literature with his first book, The Bear With A Sore Throat.
Having initially been based in the Diocese of Leeds, Deacon Keith Ballard relocated to the Archdiocese of Liverpool two years ago to be closer to his daughter and her young children, Clara aged 7 and 5 year old Laurie, who live in Formby. Deacon Keith serves in the parish of St George, Maghull, and teaches on the formation programme for deacon
The inspiration for the book struck whilst making up bedtime stories for his grandchildren. He said: “I based one of the stories on going on a bear-hunt in the garden and making a homemade ‘medicine’ from olive oil, lemon juice and honey when they had a sore throat.” The family suggested that I should send the story to a publisher for consideration. I wrote down the story, sent it to Austin Macauley publishers and was really pleased when I heard that they were offering to publish it.”
In his debut children’s book, Deacon Keith shares a story about a bear who escapes from a zoo, but finds himself with a sore throat. Clara, the central character of the book, inspired by his granddaughter, asks her grandad to create his usual homemade medicine from olive oil, lemon juice and honey to nurse the bear back to health. The story encourages kindness, care, and resourcefulness.
Deacon Keith is already working on his next book. He added: “The biggest test was whether my grandchildren enjoyed the book and they love it! Laurie has been asking about a book with him as the main character, so that is what I am working on now.”
The new author is hoping to go into local primary schools to read the book to school children. Deacon Keith said: “As a former headteacher it would be great to go into schools again but this time as an author.” The book, aimed at children aged 3-6, is now available at Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon, and directly from Austin Macauley Publishers (@austinmacauley.com).
