Prairie City Author and Illustrator Kaylene De Vries released her first children’s book, Is Papa Robin Listening?, this summer.

The story is set on a spring day in which the main character, Papa Robin, is excited to build his first nest. In the book, Papa Robin is too busy to listen to Mama Robin’s advice, but when things don’t go as planned, he must learn to listen to and work with Mama Robin to build a safe nest for their eggs to hatch. De Vries said that it was her family that helped inspire her to write and illustrate her first book.

“Years and years ago when I was a kid, my grandfather thought I had a God-given talent to do drawings and paintings. And one day my mother called me and she said, what are you doing? And I happened to be looking out the window, observing these two robins out on my deck, and I just told her this story I had conjured up in my mind. And so, I just told her this story and she said, Kay, you should make a book. You should really write a book about that story because it’s just adorable.”

The book can be purchased online through Amazon or Barnes and Noble, and will be available at the Pella Public Library in the coming weeks. Hear more about Is Papa Robin Listening? from author and illustrator Kaylene De Vries on an upcoming In Touch with South Central Iowa.