Multi-talented Cork artist pens debut book for children

Kinsale woman Regina Grosbois has an unusual hobby - she likes to draw cartoons of the people around her depicted as animals.

Now this native of Kyrgyzstan, a French American, has published her first children’s book that she both wrote and illustrated, called Things I Learned From My Uncle.

Its main character, Uncle Ed, came from sketches of a wolf for a painting series called Cabaret Animals that she exhibited in Besharat Museum & Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2017-2018.

After moving to Ireland in 2020, Regina continued sketching the cartoon animals, adding new twists inspired by the local scenery.

One of her favourite ones to sketch is a grey wolf who resembles Regina’s French husband Philippe “a little”. Wolf eventually became Uncle Ed, the book’s main character.

If sketching is Regina’s long-time favourite hobby, this is her first attempt at writing a children’s book.

“One time, my daughter, husband and I looked at the sketches I’ve collected and agreed this needed to become a book,” she explains.

The book started with illustrations of Uncle Ed in different poses: looking grumpy, funny, romantic or a bit grotesque.

“One lovely day, as I was watching boats, birds, dogs, and children play at Kinsale beach, I thought Uncle Ed would really enjoy this,” said Regina.

The bookrevolves around Uncle Ed discussing the five senses with a child. “I believe a children’s book should be enjoyed by both children and adults,” said Regina.

When I was writing Things I Learned From My Uncle, I was thinking of a genuine conversation that humans can have, small or adult, it doesn’t matter.

“Everybody has something to say about how the surrounding world feels through smelling, touching, tasting, hearing, and seeing.

“I think it is important to help kids explore and clarify their emotions, to show we are genuinely interested and feel very similar things as adults.

“Isn’t it amazing to be there to discuss such important subjects together and stimulate children’s imagination?”

In the book, Uncle Ed does exactly that. He is not a perfect grey wolf but is a great uncle who is sincerely interested in his little nephew’s take on the five senses and shares his own thoughts, at times nostalgic, at times funny.

“So that’s the story. For a while, I wasn’t exactly sure where to go with it,” Regina its.

“The story stayed dormant in my desk drawer until I ran into Trish Kelleher, a teacher from my daughter’s school, Scoil Naomh Eltin, who shared her self-publishing journey.

That was the first boost of inspiration to get started.

Then things started moving quickly: a family friend in , Amandine Wanert, did the lay-out design, and local editor Meghan Helms helped with the text revision.

A small team of three got the book started and finished in a little more than a month.

“It is a fascinating process putting a book together!” Regina said of her journey. “I’m so glad my daughter was able to witness every step of it and provide her along the way.”

Her husband was a big help too.

“My human French wolf ed the creative process by taking care of the household’s needs, allowing me the maximum time outside of work to focus on the book.”

That was not the finish line though.

Once the book came to be, Regina started a new learning journey: selling. The first bookshop she approached was Bookstór in Kinsale.

“As I was collecting the courage to start a conversation with the shop manager, I went from shelf to shelf, flipping through pages of whatever was in front of me, hoping my child would do the sales pitch for me,” said Regina.

When the conversation did start, she got the warmest ‘Congratulations’ she could hope for.

“The beauty of local businesses is their humans. I discovered more wonderful local bookshops across the Cork area. They all ed me and took in the book with genuine delight,” said Regina.

It was also so sweet to observe the sense of camaraderie among small businesses in the community.

“For example, when I went to Leaf and Bower in Ballincollig, Fiona, the bookshop owner, didn’t hesitate a second to recommend other bookshops, saying the warmest things about them.

“Thanks to my book, I got to explore the communities across different towns,” Regina added.

“The book is also available on Amazon, but I would highly encourage people to go to a local independent bookstore, touch its wooden shelves, talk to the owner, explore the town, and stop by a local coffee shop nearby.

“Coming from a busy metropolitan area in the U.S, where small authentic shops have become a rarity, I feel like these beautiful local bookshops are so full of Irish character and should be treated like little national treasures.”

Regina’s advice to Echo readers is: “Read books with your kids, any books. Enjoy, discuss, laugh, sympathise together. These are such precious moments.”