A regional daily editor is preparing to send his second children’s book to print – as a young reader created another new character for the series.
Northern Echo chief Peter Barron hopes that black-toothed Ruth Black – a tale of a girl who never brushes her teeth – will be released in the summer.
It is the next episode in his Monstrous Morals series, and was approved for print after the success of the first in the series – Fartin’ Martin Sidebottom: The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Breaking Wind.
Peter also ran a competition in the paper appealing to youngsters to dream up a new character for the series, which was won by 11-year-old Ellie Tweddle with her idea of Repeater Peter, a boy who cannot stop burping and who is attacked by giant burping frogs.
Peter said he liked Ellie’s idea would make for a “funny and scary” book.
“I thought the name Repeater Peter was clever and it fits with the philosophy behind the series – to help parents deal with their children’s bad habits in a fun way,” he said.
“The illustrator, David Wright, also liked the fact that Repeater Peter is attacked by giant burping frogs – he thought it was a visually strong idea.”
The book will be written at some point in the future, as there are already 12 Monstrous Morals stories waiting to go – and thanks to the success of Fartin’ Martin, the publisher has given the next installment the green light.
“We’re hoping Black-toothed Ruth Black will be available in the summer,” he added.
“The publisher has given it the go-ahead based on sales of the first book but it’s a question of how quickly the illustrator can get the artwork finished. I’m trying to apply gentle pressure!”