- A slug-inspired picture book promoting confidence aims to raise money for free children’s activities held at creative hub Made in Stirling.
- Scottish speechwriter Laura Westring began writing children’s stories inspired by her family’s use of play and storytelling during pandemic lockdowns.
- Westring’s first picture book, Slug in a Mug, produced by Whitefox publishing services, is illustrated by Perthshire greetings card illustrator Jon Bishop.
- Available to purchase online and in selected independent stores from October 2022.
A children’s picture book promoting confidence, and inspired by cottage life in Stirlingshire, aims to raise money for children’s activities as the cost of living continues to rise for families.
Slug in a Mug, written by Scottish speechwriter Laura Westring and illustrated by greetings card creator Jon Bishop (The Grey Earl), is the tale of a slug whose taste for sweet treats leads him to unexpected places.
The “almost true” story was inspired by Westring’s move to an empty cottage in 2020. Having woken one morning to find a slug in her mug, Westring began inventing stories with her young son to relieve the stress and social isolation of pandemic lockdowns.
Westring believes imagining and reciting stories can be a beneficial activity for the whole family and increase the confidence of young children as they learn to speak and empathise.
Through Creative Stirling, a social enterprise supporting local artists and makers, Laura contacted Perthshire-based illustrator Jon Bishop and both set out on an almost two-year, self-funded project to bring their slug to life. Collaborating with Gerald Richard, CEO of Scottish charity Super Power Agency, the book also includes an activity to help children with writing skills.
Illustrator Jon Bishop said of receiving the manuscript for Slug in a Mug in January 2021, “It was the first children’s story I wanted to illustrate from the first reading. From the subtly sick sense of humour to the message that it’s okay to be bold and think differently to those around you, everything told me this slug had legs.”
Laura Westring is keen to ensure that the cost of living doesn’t remove opportunities from diverse and under-resourced communities, and so both Westring and Bishop hope to support a variety of community workshops and children’s activities run by Creative Stirling through sales of the book.
Commenting on the book Laura Westring said, “Families with young children have gone through the lonely trial of providing care while working in pandemic conditions only to see the cost of living rise astronomically as they begin to tackle the longer-term emotional and developmental consequences of those difficult years.
“I hope people enjoy reading Slug in a Mug as much as we’ve enjoyed making it, so that we can fulfil our ambition to reach revenue and pay it forward.”