Chickaroo? Eleraffe? Woodbury Man Pens Unique Children’s Book

Woodbury resident Rick Taft had a stroke in March 2009.

“I had to reinvent myself,” he says.

Taft has since reinvented himself as an author by inventing fantastical animals (which he calls "zanimals") in his recently published children’s book, Shorty the Dreamer.

He used Photoshop to combine images of different animals, or animals and inanimate objects, and invites young readers to name them. The kids who do get a certificate affirming that they have named the animal.

Taft, 65, said he has been impressed with their creativity, noting in particular a kangaroo crossed with a rooster.

“I said, ‘Well, that’s a Kangarooster,’” he said. “But an 8-year-old emailed and said it’s a ‘Chickaroo.’”

One child sent him a painting of an “eleraffe.”

The genesis of the book comes from similar images he created for a Josh, a young relative who was suffering from cancer eight years ago. The boy has since died and the book is dedicated to his memory.

“It’s important to have things to look forward to. He was looking forward to another doctor visit,” Taft said. “I can’t just keep sending him get well cards.”

So Taft set about creating the animal combos—a “crocopotamus” among them—and sent his wife’s cousin’s grandson two postcards a week.

After Taft’s stroke, he came across the creations, sent them to friends “just for fun” and was encouraged to write the book.

“And I’m no author,” Taft said. “I admire people who can make a living with words, but it’s beyond me.”

However, Taft said he has always enjoyed word play: “A hot water heater heats water hotter.”

“It’s an impulse,” he said. “It’s not something I try to do, I just do it.”

The images in Shorty the Dreamer (Shorty is Taft’s dog) are an extension of that.

Kids naturally like combining things, Taft said, noting how children go to soda fountains at restaurants and create their own mixes.

“And they even have a name for it,” he said. “That’s what kids are like, so we wanted to tap into that.”

Taft, now retired, previously worked as a research and development machinist, taking ideas and making them into working products such as artificial joints and portable IV systems. He tapped his sisters—both of whom have backgrounds working with kids—for help with Shorty the Dreamer. “They round out what I lack.”

Taft met his wife Ginny as a student at the then-McPhail College of Music, and they worked as musicians for a few years. He then got into woodworking and went to a cabinet-making school.

“There’s a certain guilt that goes into woodworking,” he said. “And I got into machining but I realized it’s the same only the smells are different.”

Taft has since returned to woodworking and he’s now dubbed “The Sumac Wizard” and was featured in a Pioneer Press story last year. He donates some of his creations to local school districts, including South Washington County Schools.

The response to Shorty the Dreamer, published in November 2010, has been good, Taft said.

“One girl brought the book with her to Disney World because it was something to do while she was waiting in line,” he said. “Another said she has a library of books at home but this is her favorite. Who knows how long that will last—kids are kids.”

The self-published book is available at Amazon and www.shortythedreamer.com.

“If I can get kids to cuddle up with their parents and not just read but expand their vocabulary, then I’m grateful,” Taft said.