Rooted is all about the people and the places that make us proud to call our community home.
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From Adele Lamothe’s imagination comes a wonderful story about precipitation.
Two Little Raindrops is the first children's book written by local author Adele Lamothe which highlights the adventure of Splish and Splash (the aforementioned two little raindrops) and their journey through the water cycle.
“I was driving home one day when it was raining and it was one of those moments where you’re sitting in the car waiting for the lights to change and your mind wanders a bit and I was watching the raindrops falling down the windshield and I thought to myself, ‘These raindrops have been all over the world’ and that’s when the idea of writing about the adventures of these raindrops came to me,” says Lamothe.
The mother of two says it’s a book that contains a practical message as well.
“I’m quite passionate about saving water and I thought it would be nice to include that message of conservation along with the story of the water cycle and doing it in a way that is easy for kids to understand,” she says.
The heroes of Two Little Raindrops are Splish and Splash, who embark on an adventure through the water cycle. Upon jumping out of a cloud, they find themselves separated from their family. Together, they decide to find their way home.
It’s a story that has earned praise from other children’s authors including Ellwyn Autumn, an Early Childhood Teacher and children’s author who wrote in a review on Amazon, “Like water in the story, the words have a lyrical flow and are pleasant to the ear.”
Lamothe says “I loved reading with my kids when they were younger. They are now 13 and 15, but when they were little, I loved having that bonding time with them. It was always special to me, hearing them giggle at the stories and memorizing their favourite parts and the rhyming books were our favourites and so I decided that my book was going to be a rhyming book.”
Lamothe says as she started to plot out the story, the rhymes were an interesting challenge.
“I had to do a lot of research including, what is story structure supposed to look like, how do you lay it out, and how many pages do you need to write? Once I knew what my page length was, I wrote a story outlining what I wanted to say on each page. From there I broke it down page by page working on getting the right words to rhyme.”
Lamothe says there were times when three lines would work but the final one wouldn’t so she would have to restart from the top of the page looking for new rhyming words. “What’s important with rhyming is that the rhythm has to be correct as well. Almost as if it’s written like a song – otherwise it doesn’t sound quite right.”
The book has also earned international praise as Two Little Raindrops has been awarded the prestigious Gold Mom’s Choice Award (MCA) The MCA program is globally recognized for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products, and services. The organization is based in the United States and has reviewed thousands of entries from more than 60 countries. Having been rigorously evaluated by a panel of MCA evaluators, Two Little Raindrops was deemed to be among the best products/services for families.
“I was really excited and really happy when the panel came back and gave me the gold award,” says Lamothe.
“To apply there were several criteria you had to meet and a questionnaire to complete, and you have to submit three physical copies to them as well. Once you do that, it’s just a waiting game, and one day I received an email congratulating me on being a gold recipient.”
Lamothe says she is very proud of earning this recognition.
“I think it’s very rewarding to have that because it’s one thing to have your friends and family tell you the book is good, it’s another to read someone's positive review on Amazon or have an independent panel give you an official approval.”
The MCA evaluation process uses a proprietary methodology in which entries are scored on several elements including production quality, design, educational value, entertainment value, originality, appeal, and cost.
Lamothe says writing a children’s book has always been a dream for her.
“I wanted to write back when my kids were young, but I was working a full-time corporate job and I never carved out the time to do it,” she says.
Born in South Africa, Lamothe met her husband, a North Bay native, in Johannesburg and in 2022 the couple and their two children moved to Canada.
“I was thinking of what I wanted to do after we moved here and I realized that that was my chance to take some time and really focus on putting something together,” says Lamothe.
After figuring out the story and the rhyming, Lamothe sought out a graphic designer to illustrate the book and found Steven Tu, a graphic designer based in South Africa, whose day job is working on game design.
“I thought, ‘If you can do the graphics for a game, you should be able to do something for a children’s book,’” Lamothe said laughing.
“He was very excited about doing it and I’m very happy with how it turned out. It was very important to me that the characters had their own personalities. I think kids love characters that they can relate to and characters that are quirky and funny. He did a really great job of bringing that to life.”
Lamothe isn’t the only one who thought that about Tu’s work.
“Tu's illustrations are full of life and an absolute riot. Youngsters are sure to giggle at the hilarious expressions of the main characters. I really enjoyed the usage of targeted vocabulary and the simplified diagram of the water cycle as well as the tips offered on water conservation,” says Ellwyn Autumn in a review on Amazon.
Lamothe adds, “It checks off a few things, I wanted something entertaining and something educational. I wanted to leave that thought with the kids that something wonderful happens when it rains and I hope they remember this book, but also the importance of what happens during the water cycle.”
While this was done as a passion project, Lamothe says she has another story that’s written but needs to go through some editing and finding an illustrator and adds there are a few more ideas on the back burner as well.
She says for others who have a dream or aspiration, the best advice she can give is to just find a small amount of time to do some research about what your passion is.
“You don’t have to do anything initially but if you have something in your heart and you’re passionate about something, there is so much research available everywhere and you can use that as your starting point. Whether it’s doing a little bit before bed, or getting up a little bit earlier, or finding that one extra hour on the weekend, take everything in small steps and start with your research,” she says.
“Once you break things down and start doing it in those small steps, it starts to become exciting because you’re fuelling that passion, and you’ll find that energy you need to keep going.”
Lamothe says it’s been a big change moving from South Africa to North Bay, but she says, “We have settled in a quiet neighbourhood which is home to rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and birds. I am fortunate to be surrounded by beautiful forests, lakes, gardens, and an abundance of ever-changing beauty. Through my books, I wish to encourage children to connect with the world and develop a deep appreciation of our environment.”
Lamothe’s book can be found here. You can also contact her directly for a signed copy at [email protected]
For additional educational resources, you can follow her journey as an author on Facebook @adele.lamothe_author and Instagram @adelelamothewriter.
If you have a story idea for “Rooted” send Matt an email at [email protected].
