Dublin Couple Writing National Parks Children's Book Series

DUBLIN, CA — Not many people will make it to all of America’s 63 national parks in their lifetimes, but soon enough, everyone can experience each one through the adventures of a spunky little tumbleweed named Tripp.

Dougherty Elementary School teacher Christy Bray and her husband Ed are lifelong nature and hiking enthusiasts who are writing a series of children’s books celebrating every single national park. The project fulfills two of their longstanding desires: to see all of the parks themselves, and to write a corresponding children’s book.

“Once we saw the first park, Yellowstone, and the untouched beauty, it became sort of a drug for us — what can we see next and where?” Ed said. “We’ve been to about 13 of them, and our goal is to not write a book about a park until we’ve physically seen it, so we have our work cut out for us.”

When Christy and Ed got married 26 years ago, she told him that she wanted to write a children’s book. Now, with their three children nearly grown, they find themselves in a position to do so. They decided to frame the project around the adventures of a tumbleweed named Tripp, who travels to each park, and through conversation with local flora and fauna provides a host of interesting facts.

A tumbleweed, also known as a Russian thistle, may not immediately stick out as the obvious choice for a children’s adventure mascot, but Ed knew it was the right choice since he saw one blowing around in Death Valley.

“It’s so malleable,” he said. “It’s not something that can get stuck in places - it can bounce, it can tumble, it can fly, it can go in the water, and so when writing the different stories, we found that this type of character really has no boundaries to it.”

So far, the pair have taken Tripp on trips to 13 national parks. In addition to national parks, Tripp always makes a visit into grade school classrooms, including in Dublin, to get vital feedback from the target audience.

“I read the Death Valley book to my class and really got their input, and as an experienced teacher paid attention to what they liked, what they didn’t like,” Christy said. “For example, there was a part of the original text that we took out, we included a last name for Tripp and they didn’t understand it when I read it, so basically it was like free editing.”

Christy teaches fifth grade, but normally the pair is looking for feedback from third grade classes. The Brays are targeting their books toward third graders to get them excited for fourth grade, when they and their families will be eligible to visit all national parks for free. They have shared Tripp’s origin story with Bridgette Jakubowicz’s third grade class, and are currently planning to share Tripp’s travels to Pinnacles National Park with third graders in Soledad, California.

The pair plans to send questionnaires and surveys to third graders who live near each one of the parks. In addition to serving as a sort of focus group, Christy said it’s a fun way to get students interested in the writing process.

“Students, especially younger kids often write something and say, ‘I’m done writing!’” she said. “It’s been really exciting for me and for them to share this journey that even though we have this printed book we’re not done, and how involved the process is. I think that really opened their eyes to all that it takes.”

Even though they both work full-time jobs — Ed works in human resources at Ross’ corporate headquarters in Dublin — the pair is throwing themselves with gusto into their passion project. They are reaching out to school districts to help finalize existing books, and starting work on new books about Yosemite and Yellowstone.

First, the pair visits the park, and takes a guided tour and lots of photos and notes. Then they find a local critter they think would engage well with Tripp. Then, with the help of a professional editor and illustrator, they spend about two months crafting the draft they’ll show to third graders.

“For 26 years, we’ve been pretty much attached from the hip, we have a lot of common interests, so that works out well for us,” Ed said of working so closely with his wife. “I think where I come to the table is on the story side, and what Christy does is she’s coming up with the facts, but she’s also coming up with the story, from the standpoint of telling me whether it works or not.”

The result, they said, is a unique series with something for everyone.

“Anyone can write a children’s book,” Ed said. “Our differentiator is two things: using schoolchildren to help us help ourselves, and writing a fiction/nonfiction book. The kid who likes fiction is going to like the story, the kid who likes nonfiction is going to like the facts.”

To meet Tripp, read his blog, buy the books, participate in activities, and much more, visit trippthetumbleweed.com.