The Amazing and Mostly True St

Age Range: 6-8 | Series: Lamby Lambpants and Friends

Lamby's FIRST Exciting Magical Playroom Adventure! Katie Beagle has a new summer job. Babysitting kids isn't the same as babysitting a dragon with special needs and a sassy, disabled toy lamb with a BIG personality. Katie quickly learns that believing in magic seems much easier than believing in herself (especially when a picnic turns into a big mess). But after a sudden sewing emergency teaches Katie a lesson in self-reliance, she's inspired to make a special gift for her new magical friend. After all, it's going to be a long summer, and NO lamb should ever be without some REALLY good play clothes. Beautifully illustrated, fun-to-read out loud picture book for early readers.

Q&A with Picture Book Author D. Byron Patterson

Q: Byron, tell us about this world and the characters in this story?

A: I created this lamb character a few years ago. I gave him a unique voice and a playful, imaginative world. I surrounded him with a group of lovable disabled misfits, some real (like Jonesy the Chinese puppy dragon) and some brought to life (like Lamby's best friend Snout). I fell in love with the idea of wounded little magical beings striving to overcome fears, prejudices and doubts around their physical or emotional disabilities. Everyone in Lamby's world is damaged or broken in some way, and they learn to trust and support one another as they become better souls. I mean, that's the large hidden part of the iceberg; the stuff ABOVE surface is just a LOT of silly, sweet and funny goings-on. I do my best not to hit readers over the head with obvious messages about one thing or another. The messages are there BECAUSE of the story and not the other way around. Kids are much smarter than that.

Q: So, how DO you write about a dragon with special needs? Isn't that kind of taboo?

A: What, is it taboo because I'm writing about a fictional mentally-disabled Chinese dragon and not a fictional human being? Having flaws is part of the human experience. Kids are humans without much experience, but they're not stupid. You just need to write those stories with young, vulnerable characters THEY can relate to. For my particular Chinese dragon, I focus on his actions and emotions affecting others around him. Jonesy is a tender-hearted, puppy-like Chinese dragon who truly believes he can fly (even though he falls when he tries). He never gives up, never stops trying, but his behavior is borderline obsessive. As the characters around Jonesy learn how best to care for and about him, so do young readers. That kind of learning won't necessarily happen neatly or within a single story. In some cases, yes, but as an independent publisher, we're comfortable taking time to build things properly. We have quite a lot of stories to publish this year alone.

Q: Then why publish a sequel story before you publish the first in a series?

A: Don't ask me -- it's just how they come out. The Amazing (and Mostly True) Story of How Lamby Got His Pants is the first, more or less, in the Lamby Lambpants world. I've known Lamby's history for so long that I had trouble crafting a story that felt real. Yes, The Incredible Flying Jonesy is a follow-up to the story of Lamby's first pair of pants, but so what? Think about each person's life as a long series of stories. We mostly come in and out of each other's stories in the middle places and then play catch up.

Q: What would you like readers to take from your stories?

A: That life is fun and magical when you surround yourself with the right people. That you are NEVER as broken as you think you are. That finding the courage to be yourself comes when you honestly accept your flaws and imperfections without shame. And that self-esteem is not an automatic entitlement, but something that is EARNED through acts of charity, compassion and love.

One of Amazon's top-selling independent storytellers for early and young readers, D. Byron Patterson is the author of The Amazing (and Mostly True) Story of How Lamby Got His Pants, The Accidental Wonder Pig and The Incredible Flying Jonesy (a series of colorful, fun-to-read out loud picture books for early readers); The Christmas Witchling (a holiday chapter book for young readers), and Little Tiger and the Year of the Dragon (a multicultural fantasy series of chapter books for mature young readers). In addition to his myriad writing, design and art direction duties, Byron is a talented vocal technician, performer, musician, puppeteer, artist and the 1995 1st Runner-Up National Karaoke Champion (don't tell anyone). As Head of Creative Development at Love & Fleece Happy Toys and Books, his focus is developing characters, stories, toys and worlds. Byron lives in Tarpon Springs, Florida with his wife and business partner Tina.

Katya Bowser is an Illustrator and Story Artist based in Burbank, California. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, she attended Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, where she majored in Computer Animation. Her work mainly consists of storyboards, children’s books and character designs. Katya provided illustrations for the top-selling Lamby Lambpants picture books published by Love & Fleece Happy Toys and Books. She freelances from her Burbank home with her husband Seth and little dog Mushu.