UWCSEA East teacher publishes book 'Trouble on Tiger Tigg's Farm'

Brendan Bolger, Primary School teacher, UWCSEA East
19 April 2022

The idea of writing a children’s book first raised its head back in July 2016, on one of our many family strolls around a lake in West Sussex, during our annual family holiday back to Ireland and the UK to visit family. As with many parents of young children, our bedtime routine centred around a story every night. We all had our favourites (even the parents). On one such walk, we spoke about making up our own family stories, never with the intention of publishing them. And so writing stories became a Bolger family holiday hobby.

Then in February 2020 the world changed for everyone. As lockdowns became a part of everyday life around the globe so too did the stories of inspiration and people raising funds for charities that still needed to function despite everything else that was happening. It was at this time that our daughter Molly suggested that we properly finish one of our family holiday stories, get it published and donate 100% of the net profits to charity. And so it began!

We finished the story that was the first we started, it felt it was the right thing to do and sent it off to 10 publishing firms. As is common, we were met with either rejection or silence. Then one publisher contacted us to say they loved the story but wouldn’t publish it as due to the very high costs of publishing an illustrated book and the low prices, there is very little profit margin and 5,000 - 6,000 would need to be sold to break even. This left us with a decision to make; do we self-publish at our own cost of approximately $6,000 or quit? We decided as a family to proceed and try to help raise awareness and funds for ten charities. We sent out another five admissions and got back three expressions of interest. Having spoken with them we decided to work with Blue Falcon Publishing.

Deciding which charities to support was one of our most difficult decisions. They are all so worthy! We became familiar with so many charities through friends and colleagues and then there was EPiC Arts (Our UWCSEA East Grade 5 Global partner). We finally agreed on nine charities and one organisation (One Tree Planted) that we would work with to plant trees in an effort to make the book carbon neutral. The other charities included Children’s Hospitals in our home countries of Ireland and England, a centre for teenagers who are victims of sexual abuse in Kenya, the wonderful EPiC Arts in Cambodia, an organisation that trains dogs to support autisitc children, as well as comforting children and adults who experience anxiety. The final charity was the amazing Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary in South Africa. We were made aware of their inspiring work through our friends. You can find out all about the charities on our company website www.curamlecheile.com.

There were lots of things we hadn’t envisaged at the beginning of the journey such as how many other things needed to be done such as setting up a company, finding an accountant and setting up a website. The one benefit of not being able to travel for the past two years was that it created time for us to do all of these things. By late 2021 we had set up our company Cúram Le Chéile Limited. Deciding a name took nearly as long as writing the book!!! My Irish heritage is very important to me and I love the Irish language. Deriving from the word ‘coeur’, Cúram is the Irish word for ‘Care’ and ‘Le Chéile’ means together. This sums up our belief in two proverbs: ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, and the Irish proverb ‘Ní neart go cur le cheile’ which translates as ‘There’s no strength without unity.’

Since February 2020 we have worked relentlessly behind the scenes to get our little project up and running. There have been challenges but many highlights along the way such as working alongside the very talented Leah Rowe who made our dream a reality by bringing our characters to life through her amazing illustrations. Seeing the first rough illustrations and having the first hardcopy in our hands were very surreal moments and made all the hard work, rejections and financial costs worth it! 

Another huge positive has been forming lasting relationships with the charities and learning more about the wonderful work they carry out, helping those most vulnerable and at risk. It has also been very important for Kerry and I to teach our own children about the importance of giving back as well as taking a risk, perceived failure in the form of letters of rejection but also the reliance to keep going. It was also hugely important to have those closest to you support you and give honest feedback along the way as well. For those times when you begin to doubt yourself, it is hugely important to have others around you who believe in you and what you are doing.

So with the book finally in our hands, it was the moment of truth. I asked Pauline Markey (Primary School Principal, UWCSEA East) if she would have a look at it and give some feedback. Not only this, but I also asked if she would be happy for me to approach the staff to purchase or donate copies of the book for their own children or for children in the local schools. The support from Pauline and the staff was amazing, but not surprising given the ethos of the school. Within 10 days over 250 copies were purchased, over 70 of which were donated to local schools. Pauline also arranged for me to speak about our project with the Primary School Class Parents. They too were super enthused, interested in the process and supportive and it was genuinely lovely to have their feedback and suggestions.

Alongside the publishing of the book, creating a company and building a website we have been busy reaching out to companies to donate purchase books directly through us. The reasons being that this would:

• Significantly increase the net profits the charities would receive by removing many of the middle people

• Set up relationships between companies and schools in their locality

• Raise the profile and awareness of companies through exposure on our social media

To date, we have had over 1,100 hundred copies of the book donated. Our target is 22,000! This is definitely a marathon and not a sprint as there are many charities and organisations out there who have full time people devoted to this. We are trying to do this whilst holding down our very enjoyable but still demanding jobs as teachers and also raising two demanding but lovable children. We really are depending on the support of others and for people to help spread the word. In fact, many of the companies who have donated have been put in contact with us through others. Again, this reinforces our belief that there is no strength without unity.

At the end of March 2022, our dream became a reality when our first book ‘Trouble on Farmer Tigg’s Farm’ went on sale in shops and online. 

The animals on Farmer Tigg's farm are all rather special and unique. So when TROUBLE arrives in the shape of a nasty crocodile who has escaped from the zoo, the animals have a suitably special way of dealing with this bully. Told in snappy rhyme, with charmingly funny illustrations, you'll soon become firm friends with the animals of Farmer Tigg's Farm. 

The book is aimed at children aged 3–8 and makes a wonderful class read aloud or bedtime story.

It was such a surreal experience to see the book on display in the main bookshop in my home city of Kilkenny in Ireland. We have had so much positive feedback about the book and such a great time visiting some schools in Kilkenny presenting the donated books, including the school I attended many moons ago! What a journey it has been and the charities have been so grateful for our efforts to help raise awareness for their magnificent work. We have learned so much along the way but ultimately how positive and supportive people are. We are truly grateful to one and all and hope for your continued support on the remainder of our journey.

The book is available on the following websites:

• www.closetfulofbooks.com (based in Singapore)
• www.amazon.com
• www.bookdepository.com
• www.waterstones.com

You can also find out more about our story and the amazing charities we are working alongside on www.curamlecheile.com or follow us on Instagram at curam_le_cheile. If you are interested in finding out more or making a donation towards books please contact us directly on info@curamlecheile.com.