A counseling career, a dream about a peanut and a huge Great Dane named Charlie might sound like a strange recipe for a children’s book, but that is just how it happened for first-time authors Keath and Alyssa Killebrew.
The Killebrews will appear at Turnrow Book Co. at 11 a.m. Saturday to read their book, “Charlie the Peanut,” to local children. The book’s illustrator, Chris Jenkins, also will be there.
The reading is open to the public, and all children are encouraged to attend.
“Charlie the Peanut” is the story of a young peanut named Charlie who wanders away from home through cotton, wheat and soy fields, only to find his way back and learn a lesson about the importance of family.
Keath Killebrew, who grew up in a farming family and now raises cotton, soybeans, rice, peanuts, corn and sunflowers, drew inspiration for “Charlie the Peanut” from a dream he had one year during peanut planting season.
“It was Keath’s idea … I took the idea and made Charlie come alive,” said Alyssa Killebrew, who worked as a mental health therapist at Life Help for several years and currently is working on her doctorate at Jackson State University.
She said while working as a children’s counselor, she often encountered children who struggled with finding happiness outside themselves.
“It’s not about where you are; it’s about what’s going on on the inside,” she explained.
The Killebrews wanted “Charlie the Peanut” to teach children that it’s important to be happy with where they are and who they’re with, and to appreciate what they have.
The husband and wife are both natives of the Mississippi Delta who graduated from Central Holmes Academy in Lexington. Alyssa Killebrew attended the University of Mississippi and holds a bachelor’s degree from Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., and a master’s degree from Delta State University.
They now live on a plantation in Horseshoe with their 6-year-old Great Dane, Charlie — the inspiration for the title character’s name.
Jenkins, the graphic artist who created illustrations for “Charlie the Peanut,” is originally from Batesville but now lives in Greenwood with his wife, Glyn, son, Eli, 6, and two stepsons, Dylan Kern, 15, and Gabe Kern, 12.
Jenkins, a self-taught musician and artist, is working toward a design degree at Delta State University.
In addition to teaching children to “grow where they’re planted,” Alyssa Killebrew said “Charlie the Peanut” also teaches them about agriculture and the crops of the Mississippi Delta.
During the story time at Turnrow, the authors will have cotton bolls, corn, rice, soybeans and photographs for the children to touch and see.
So far, the Killebrews have held readings at schools in Greenwood, Jackson and Clarksdale and at the Holmes County Arts Council. They will have a signing at Noble-Watts Bookstore in Canton today and at Square Books in Oxford next month.
“It’s been really fun. We’ve had a great response,” Alyssa Killebrew said. She added that they are especially trying to market the book to local schools.
“I’d like to give a portion of the proceeds from the book back to the schools,” she said.
“Charlie the Peanut” is on sale at Turnrow Book Co. and Mississippi Gift Co.
