Southsea children's author left astounded as painted pebble of main character turns up 300 miles away in the Lake District
WHEN a Southsea children’s author hid pebbles painted with his main character, he was not expecting one to turn up 300 miles away.
Matthew A. Scott, who wrote Cyril Squirrel and the Wonderfully Worrisome Task, was astounded after an intricately painted drawing of Cyril travelled up to the Lake District thanks to an unknown traveller.
A few weeks ago, Matthew’s artist wife Celine set to work designing some colourful pebbles with Cyril’s likeness on them to create some fun for young readers.
Matthew, 41, said: ‘We placed them around Southsea and it got a bit of traction, then two or three weeks after I got a message on my author page saying someone and their daughter found a pebble in Helvellyn in the Lake District.
‘It’s fantastic, I don’t know who put it there. It just really shows how far things can spread with things like Facebook.’
The author’s debut book featuring the character is all about Cyril trying to overcome a problem and feeling very worried about completing his task.
Matthew, who has two more Cyril books in the works, said: ‘It’s about making sure you accept advice when you need it. It shows if things are difficult, there are other ways around it which are a lot easier than the child might think. People will really relate to it for lots of different reasons.’
The inspiration behind Cyril Squirrel came a few years ago when Matthew was training for a marathon, and he has worked hard to bring the character to life.
He told The News: ‘Even though it takes a long time, it’s lovely to see and be able to hold your book in your hands.
‘The memories I have from my childhood with my favourite books like The Patchwork Cat, if even a few kids have memories of my books when they’re older it will be lovely.’
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The popularity of the first pebble search has encouraged Matthew to put on a few more - one at Halloween and one around Christmas time.
His next book is about a sparrow who wants to spread love, and the lesson of not forcing it on others.
To keep up with Cyril’s adventures and for more about the next pebble trail, find Matthew A. Scott on Facebook or on Instagram @matthewscott_author