Jessi Rae Fournier has always had a pretty vivid imagination.
For as long as she can remember, the downtown Barrie business owner has loved taking stories from inside her own imagination and turning them into stories to share with her teachers and loved ones.
While her life ultimately took a different path, she never lost that passion for telling stories, and over the last few years, has written three children’s stories as part of her ‘Show a Little Love Today" series — all of which she told BarrieToday are meant to help inspire kids to be confident in themselves and as well as to encourage kindness.
She said she always knew she wanted to write a children’s book, but added she didn’t want to have it traditionally published but rather write it for charity.
After writing the first book Findlay, No! Fournier reached out to friends who had knowledge on various local charities. It was then, she noted, that she learned about Candlelighters Simcoe, a not-for-profit volunteer organization that provides programs and services for young cancer patients and their families living in Simcoe County and surrounding areas.
Two years after writing her first book, Fournier wrote and published the second book in the series, How Morgan Changed Gloomyville, and is now impatiently awaiting the arrival of the third book, My Name is Blaap and I am a Monster, which is slated to be released in August.
“This series is... is all about good feelings, how to be kind to people and spreading that love. I wanted children to get that message,” she said, adding the third instalment takes a bit of a “quirky” twist. “It’s probably more of my (personality) as well. The (other two) are pretty light, but Blaap is a little bit quirky, which I really like.
“Findlay, No! is about a little girl who gets yelled at for doing things in the house and it’s always Findlay! No, don’t do that… but then she gathers her family and shows them what it’s like to do what she is doing. It’s just super fun things and about bringing family together.”
Book two follows Morgan and his dog as they make their way through Gloomyville.
“All the colours in the book are very grey in the beginning. As he goes through the town, he realizes what the feeling of happiness is and he starts to change colour. As he begins to make his way through the town, the book becomes more vibrant. The more colourful they become the more happiness they feel,” she said. “He is trying to spread happiness.”
The newest book in the series, she explained, follows Blaap, a monster who is afraid of his first day at a school for magical creatures.
“Every magical creature has their own thing they do, and when he sneezes he grows three times bigger. He is really afraid he is going to show those parts of himself and people won’t like that. The story follows him through his first day of school, making friends, and realizing that things about yourself are actually very cherished,” she said.
“I have a niece and nephew, and I really wanted them to feel welcomed, to embrace their creativity, and be who they want to be. As children, and I did this for sure, I was really confused about what I wanted. I didn’t really feel I knew who I was as a kid. I see that in good TV shows and Disney movies where the characters know who they are and I just wanted more of that kind of messaging.”
Her decision to donate the proceeds from the sale of these books was a no-brainer for Fournier.
“At the time, I was working for the city and I did a lot of fundraisers. As soon as I thought of the first book I knew I didn’t want any of that money. The Show The Love series money didn’t feel like it should go to me. … I wanted it to go back to our community,” she said. “Candlelighters is an amazing program. Usually when you see cancer fundraisers, they’re raising money toward a cure and research — which is so needed — but this money goes to the families in Simcoe County.
"Right now with the pandemic, no one is doing fundraisers, so it’s a really great time for these books to come out to raise as much money as possible.”
Fournier is still looking for sponsors to assist with the printing costs, noting all sponsors will have the opportunity to leave their legacy in the back of the book.
“I feel like the community is really coming together and I think we will be able to sell out, which will be great.”
All three books can be purchased online by clicking here.
