FOUND HIM! Author Joanne Linden and her dog, Auggie, whose lost-and-found
story inspired Ben & Zip.

Summer may have faded into memory, but it’s never too late for a good summertime children’s story. Eau Claire author Joanne Linden offers just that in her new book Ben & Zip: Two Short Friends. Ben & Zip is a cute lost-and-found tale that takes place on a summer beach boardwalk. The title characters, Ben and Zip, are with Ben’s parents on the boardwalk when a thunderstorm starts up and scares off Zip. Ben searches furiously to find his friend, but all he can see are knees! I won’t give away any spoilers besides saying that it all has a happy ending.

Ben & Zip is a fun story to read aloud, and the illustrations – done by Tom Goldsmith – are bright and colorful and bring the story to life.

The tale was inspired by Linden’s own experience with her dog, Auggie, when he disappeared at the lake. “He is sand-colored, and almost impossible to find on a sandy beach,” she says. “One day when Auggie ran away, I found him under a distant neighbor’s dock … rolling in dead fish!”

Linden, a former elementary school teacher, has written three other children’s books, all of them non-fiction. Two of her earlier books are about dogs, Shih Tzus and Yorkshire Terriers, and last year she released Fiddleheads to Fir Trees: Leaves in All Seasons, which blends poetry with plant science. It’s a nature book that, given Eau Claire’s location, fits the school curriculum very well. “Ben & Zip, on the other hand, is geared towards the younger set,” Linden says, “and it’s a lot of fun.”

The book, published earlier this year by Flashlight Press, has earned book-industry accolades. Kirkus review called it “delightfully funny” with “well-paced watercolor illustrations, abundant with marvelous, comic details.” School Library Journal said it was “a fun-filled treat, filled with bright colors, amusing details, and beach scenes bustling with activity.”

Even though writing a children’s book or picture book looks easy, Linden says one of the challenges is writing such sparse text. “Editors today want (picture books) to be under 500 words. To write in spare language is a skill that takes a long time to learn.” Picture books tend to follow a distinct recipe: 32 pages and a tightly written text to include specific page turns. Writers also have to be careful to leave room for the illustrator’s work. As she explains, “Illustrations augment the text; they recreate the written word. The illustrations must tell and sell the story.”

Joanne Linden will read from and sign copies of Ben & Zip at 11am Saturday, Nov. 22, at The Local Store, 205 N. Dewey St. The book is available at The Local Store or at Amazon.com. For more information about Linden or her other works, visit joanne-linden.com