LYNDA J PILON
Lynda Pilon, a primary school teacher for many years, is the proud grandmother of four grandchildren.
Her humour shines through as she recalls the adventures that take place when these children come to visit.
Q&A
Most frequent questions and answers
After the grandchildren were born, I often babysit and bedtime was a favourite time for all of us as I would make up stories to tell them. Of course, they were always the main characters in the plot and every single story would begin exactly the same way, “Once upon a time, a long time ago, I think maybe it was just yesterday.” They loved that beginning, and insisted on it every time .
On this particular occasion, it was the first time the three grandchildren were going to spend the night away from their parents at our farm so I decided to write about the experience. I wanted to always be able to relive this memory in accurate detail so that is how The Sleepover came to be written.
This book appeals to two groups, – children aged 3 – 8 and grandparents.
For the kids, the colourful illustrations will appeal to them.The book encourages participation in the story. Children love repetition and there are phrases that are repeated several times throughout the book. The children will instinctively know ahead of time, when these phrases are ready to be read. There is action that is greatly exaggerated which they will immediately join in and do – the snoring, tooting, howling, the making of the claw. Grandpa misbehaves many times in the story and the children will delight in giving him “The Look” along with Grandma.
For the grandparents, there are parts of the story where they will easily identify with the characters. For example, when the children are told it is bedtime, they insist that they are not tired, Grandpa says that he is tired and Grandma states, “ I’m exhausted.” I can see all grandparents, especially the grandmas fully understanding that feeling after having spent a very busy day entertaining little ones. I am also sure there are many grandpas out there who misbehave to the delight of the grandkids and to the despair of the grandma.
I believe that different generations can have amazing relationships as they share love, laughter and fun. These bonds will last forever. Another reason this book is so important to me is that these children are so young and chances are they won’t remember, at least not in detail, this wonderful time we had together. By writing this book, I have saved this wonderful memory for my grandchildren to enjoy in future years. They can read it when they are older and they will love it because it is about them. It’s a little bit of their history.