The Happy Garden—Best Friends
Vermont Business Magazine The official Vermont State Butterfly, the Monarch, will soon be returning to Vermont, and with it a new children’s book from New York Times Best Selling Authors and Essex residents John and Jennifer Churchman. This will be the Churchman’s seventh book since 2015 when they debuted with their first book Sweet Pea & Friends The SheepOver.
As children’s book authors of the Sweet Pea & Friends books series, they have turned their attention to the woodland animals that grace their farm in their new book The Happy Garden~Best Friends. The book opens with a tattered and tired Monarch Butterfly returning to Vermont after her long migratory flight. Meeting Oliver, a happy-go-lucky frog living in the garden, she asks for his help in watching over her egg. The story unfolds with the transformation of Flora from egg to caterpillar to butterfly under the watchful eye of Oliver the frog and the farmyard and woodland friends.
Storybook Inspiration
During the research phase of the Butterfly Effect Project, the Churchmans came across a little-known scientific fact about butterflies including the Monarch. Despite the transformation that occurs in the chrysalis stage which breaks down the entire caterpillar into a liquid, the memories from the caterpillar are retained in the Monarch Butterfly when it is transformed. This was a foundational inspiration for the story. The caterpillar that Oliver Frog so lovingly befriended and watched over would remember him after she made the transformation from caterpillar to her new form, the butterfly. More on the study
The Butterfly Effect Project
In late 2017 we were saddened to be seeing fewer and fewer Monarch Butterflies around our farm in Vermont and had been reading reports of the endangerment of the species across the globe. Vermont is one of the last breeding ground waystations before the long migration south back to Mexico and it is our state butterfly. We knew we had to do something. Having a robust following as children’s book authors we launched a collaborative project with our fans on Kickstarter called the Butterfly Effect.
With the support of our friends and followers, we created a Monarch and pollinator sanctuary on our farm by converting and dedicating two acres into a certified Monarch Waystation and National Wildlife Federation Certified Habitat. We planted hundreds of milkweed plants circling fields of pollinator-focused wildflowers. Beehives were installed and walking paths for future educational activities. Working with Monarch Watch we hand raised and released hundreds of Monarch Butterflies while documenting the process on our social media platforms.
We are happy to report now in 2020, we are seeing the Monarchs return and our fields are once again filled with frogs, Monarchs and pollinators of all kinds.
We always knew this body of work would culminate into one of our future children’s books and we photographed and watched for storylines to emerge over the past few seasons with this in mind. With this story, we want to give hope to our youngest readers and let them know the impact they can have alone or together with like-minded friends to change the world for the better.
About the Author & Illustrator
John Churchman is an artist, photographer, and farmer who brings stories to life with his enchanting photo illustrations.
Jennifer Churchman is a storyteller, writer, and multimedia artist.
The couple combines their talents to give voice to the stories of all the animals that surround them and add enjoyment to their lives. They have made their home on a small farm in the beautiful countryside of Essex, Vermont, with their daughter, Gabrielle. They are the creators of The SheepOver, a New York Times-bestselling book, Brave Little Finn, A Farm for Maisie, Alpaca Lunch, The Easter Surprise, The Christmas Barn, and now, The Happy Garden~ Best Friends.
Moonrise Farm in Essex, Vermont
Moonrise Farm is a “storybook” and fiber farm in Essex, Vermont as well as being the home and studio of the authors and illustrators of the Sweet Pea & Friends children’s books series. The books bring voice to the beloved animals of the farm and their stories as experienced by the Churchmans. Fans young and old love the fact that the book characters are real and are able to follow their day-to-day life “Beyond the Book” in the Churchman's online social media and visiting the farm.