GREENFIELD — In their nearly 30 years of friendship, Judy Laird and Deborah Smith never guessed they’d one day publish a children’s book together.
Laird, a longtime Greenfield resident, and Smith, who recently relocated from Greenfield to Noblesville, teamed up last year to publish “What Tilly Knows: A Pixie’s Amazing Discovery.”
The colorful book — written by Laird and illustrated by Smith — tells the story of a timid pixie named Tilly who learns important lessons on life and friendship.
The backdrop of the story is the gardens behind the Riley Boyhood Home in Greenfield, the birthplace of Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley.
Laird and Smith, both members of the Hancock County Herb Society, have spent countless hours planting and tending to the home’s flower beds, many of which carry themes based on Riley’s poetry.
Inspired by Riley’s poem, “The Pixy People,” the avid gardeners thought the gardens would be the perfect setting to bring a little pixie named Tilly to life.
Laird researched where the legend of pixies got started, tracking the origins to Great Britain. She then researched British names for girls and landed on Matilda, which is said to mean bold and warlike, and went with the nickname Tilly.
“I put myself in her place and thought, ‘She’s shy, she’s little, she lives by herself,’ and the story started coming together,” Laird said.
Since Laird herself is an avid reader, she decided to make Tilly one, too. The front cover of the book features an illustration of Tilly with a book open on her lap, striking a thoughtful pose.
Inside, the little pixie flies up to a Little Free Library box in the Riley Garden to pick out books.
Laird was inspired to write a book on kindness in 2018, when a rash of school shootings was dominating the nightly news. When a 14-year-old girl was shot by a classmate in nearby Noblesville, Laird, who had a granddaughter the same age at the time, was moved to action.
“It disturbed me so much, I couldn’t get it off my mind. I thought, ‘What can I do,’ and I thought about writing a children’s book about kindness,” she said.
Laird knew that Smith, an accomplished artist, was the perfect person to illustrate the story.
“She didn’t bat an eye when I asked her. She’s been great to work with,” Laird said.
The two met about 30 years ago at Bradley United Methodist Church in Greenfield, and have worked together over the years through the local herb society, master gardeners and master naturalist clubs.
Both friends, who are each grandmothers of five, dedicated the book to their grandchildren.
The pair turned to self-publishing through Amazon to bring the story to life.
Both hardback and paperback copies are available at amazon.com, where more than 200 copies have sold as of mid-March.
In June, the duo will do a book signing at the Riley Boyhood Home & Museum.
It’s the first book project for both women.
To join Tilly, Laird completed the list of characters with a screech owl named Silas, a firefly named Freddy, a honey bee named Lee and a cat named Little Tom.
Smith relied on her favorite medium — watercolors — to bring the colorful characters to life.
The accomplished artist, whose work spans over four decades, has a degree in fine arts and is a member of several artist associations. She was featured in the book “Indiana Painters of the 21st Century.”
Smith drew a lot of inspiration for the localized pixie book from her time tending the gardens behind the Riley Home.
She and Laird had their friend Gwen Betor, a longtime docent at the Riley Boyhood Home & Museum, pose for a picture that would eventually become a pivotal illustration in the book.
Localizing the story was important to both the author and illustrator, but not as important as conveying a message of kindness and acceptance.
“I wanted to make it a story about how friendships are formed, and kindness plays a lot into that,” Laird said. “I also wanted it to be about what happens when children meet somebody that’s different from them, maybe even somebody who has qualities that you wouldn’t necessarily relate to. The overall message is to be kind to people, because it matters. It can change lives.”
Smith thinks the message is an important one for adults, too.
“It reminds people to be kind and to be helpful, and notice what’s going on around you, which I think is a very important message for all of us,” she said.
As for doing another book, Laird said she has no solid plans, but she does have another story rattling around in her head.
“If it’s meant to be, it will happen,” she said, and she knows just the right illustrator to collaborate with.
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Local author Judy Laird and her friend Debra Smith, formerly of Greenfield, teamed up to write and illustrate a children’s book called “What Tilly Knows: A Pixie’s Amazing Discovery.”
On June 11, the author and illustrator team will host a Pixie Book Celebration and book signing at the Riley Boyhood Home & Museum, which serves as the backdrop for the story.
The event, hosted in collaboration with the Hancock County Herb Society, will give children the chance to create their own pixie book or pixie garden.
Hardback and paperback copies of the book can be purchased at amazon.com.
The celebration takes place from 5-8 p.m. June 11 at the museum, at 250 W. Main St. in Greenfield. To register, call 317-462-8539 or visit jwrileyhome.org.
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