Book stems from get-well story
(Courtesy photo) Local teen Tom Zimmerman recently published a children’s book, “The Legend of Eli Slusher,” which he originally wrote as a short story to cheer up a young friend of his who was injured.
SANDPOINT — Who doesn’t love a good children’s story, especially one with “fluffy little felons” and a hero who saves the town?
Local teen Tom Zimmerman aims to put smiles on the faces of children everywhere with “The Legend of Eli Slusher,” as the children’s book recently went to publication. It started out, however, as an effort to cheer up one 10-year-old boy who was injured in a squirrel hunting accident.
“The whole family decided to write him get-well-soon cards, and I came up with an idea to write a short little entertaining story about how a hunter saved a farm town from squirrels,” Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman, who initially wrote the story two years ago when he was 16, said his young friend Eli had climbed a tree with his slingshot during his squirrel hunting expedition. As he climbed, he lost his footing and fell, fracturing his back in three places.
It did cheer up young Eli, and after Zimmerman’s mom read the story, she told him he needed to get it published. So he did some rewriting and finessing and the book was published in February by Xulon Press, and illustrated by Corbin Hillam from Colorado.
“(Eli) was thrilled,” Zimmerman said, adding that the youngster recovered from his injuries within about six months after the accident.
The publishing process was no easy task, Zimmerman said, especially it being his first book. He had to find the illustrator, and then it was a long process of revisions as Hillam worked to capture Zimmerman’s vision for the book.
Once it was published, Zimmerman said he took a month or two just to sit back and breathe for a bit. Now, he said, he was ready to get out and promote the book, and a few local bookstores have already agreed to carry it.
Writing stories is not a new concept for the teen, as he has been doing so since he was 8 years old. He even wrote his own version of “The Hardy Boys” when he was 10.
“That’s how it started, and then I started growing and really got the rhythm down,” he said.
His rhythm includes rhymes, such as in the “The Legend of Eli Slusher,” which starts with the line, “These squirrels were causin’ trouble, the little nasty thieves. They massacred the cabbage and stripped it of its leaves.” The squirrels were devastating the farm town, so the farmers called in Eli Slusher, who is then able to run the rodents out and save the town.
Zimmerman said he also has a theatrical side as he enjoys acting. He has been in a number of plays, he said, and has made movies with his mom’s camera. His most recent play was a production of “A Christmas Carol” in Spokane.
He also enjoys skiing at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in the winter.
Zimmerman, who is the second oldest of eight children, is home-schooled at his family’s hobby farm just north of Sandpoint. He was born in Wisconsin and lived in Illinois for a time. His father’s career as a forester landed them in Idaho when he was about 10 years old.
Zimmerman said he does have plans to publish more children’s books in the future. He already has a few stories he wrote that may turn into children’s books in the future, he said, but wants to see how this one goes first.
The “Legend of Eli Slusher” is available at the Corner Book Store and Vanderford’s Books and Office Supplies in Sandpoint, as well as Bonner’s Books in Bonners Ferry. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.