Adopted street cat from local shelter becomes inspiration for a children's book series

Who would think that a cat adoption of an old black cat from the local PAWS animal shelter would inspire his adoptive fur mama to write a series of children’s books.

That is exactly what happened when Dripping Springs resident and new farmer Christine Glenn adopted two cats from the PAWS animal shelter in Hays county.

The eight-or-so year old feral cat named Clyde and his partner Bonnie were rehomed to the “Glenn Acres” farmstead owned by David and Christine Glenn in Dripping Springs.

Clyde took to life on the farm and settled in fairly quickly. Bonnie wandered and left the farm and has not been seen again, but on occasion.

Glenn, pondered what the cat must have thought going from the city to his new life as a barn cat, “I imagine, he thought, 'You know I've got a heated teepee in the winter. I've got two meals a day and places to explore, I think I’ll stay',”she mused.

On his wanderings he must have had some adventure as she would find him in the morning covered in burrs and other bits in his fur.

Glenn, who was a screenwriter for film, let her imagination fill in what that journey looked like. “I thought okay, I'm gonna write a little rhyming tale about him overcoming his tough childhood on the streets and finding himself on the farm.” Her inspiration from Clyde’s personality, curiosity and interaction with his fellow farm family turned into a children's book, “Clyde’s Big Book of Brave” that follows the magical journey of a street cat who seeks advice on how to overcome his fear of the night and life in the country.

On his journey for answers, he seeks advice from Sue the Roo, and Otus the Owl, along with readers on how to be brave after sunset at his new home.

The book is the first in a series of the adventures of the Glenn Acres Gang! Glenn shared her story with children and their parents at a public reading at Mazama’s coffee house on Mercer street last Saturday.

Glenn moved from Austin to Dripping Springs in 2020, at the height of the COVID pandemic.

“We chose Dripping Springs because my parents have a ranch out here, so there is that family history and we wanted to return here. We found a lovely place, with acreage, right off Ranch Road 12,” Glenn said.

She added, “Of course, with the isolation (of the pandemic) you kind of build your own ecosystem, which is exactly what we did. We started with chickens and then we added goats and barn cats. Now we have two livestock protection dogs and 200,000 bees.”

“The idea of tending and nurturing farm animals and being close to nature during a time when the world shut down gave us time to create this universe. As a lifelong creative and writer, I was inspired to start creating rhyming fables about the animals that we were adding to our family,” Glenn said.

She said she was inspired by a 'Texas Monthly' article about John Erickson, the author of “Hank the Cowdog” series.

“I thought if I could combine that ethos, with Aesop's Fables, which are sort of running favorites, and be animal focused, I thought, Okay, maybe we have something here. So this series emerged, but you know, it's one thing to have a manuscript, now it needs to be illustrated. So I poured through hundreds of portfolios before I found Oli to illustrate the book for me.

The illustrator, whose pen name is Oli Wonder, lives in Ukraine and the two have been collaborating ever since digitally. The two have worked well together, though the war has interrupted Oli’s internet connection on occasion.

And from there a series of children’s books emerged. And while Clyde’s adventure is her first book, the stories to follow will focus on other farm characters.

“Clyde is a fixture in the ecosystem of Glenn Acres and he will be one of the main characters going forward. There’s also Sue the Roo, who is featured in the second book. “Sue the Roo goes on Strike!

The books are available for sale on Amazon and will also be available when Glenn performs her next live author reading scheduled this Saturday, July 20 at 10 a.m. at the Triple S Feed store at 2111 HWY290 and again at 3 p.m. at Alchemy Juice & Coffee at 400 HWY 290.

For more information about the author and the Glenn Acres Gang series, visit glennacresgang.com