LYNN — One of Marlene Slaven Hurley’s favorite movies growing up was the “Wizard of Oz.” As Dorothy is finding her way to the Emerald City, she comes across the lollipop kids from the lollipop guild.
Slaven Hurley recently wrote three books inspired by the lollipop kids, but not related to the characters in the classic movie.
Slaven Hurley published “The Lollipop Kids” children’s book in 2019, with a theme of inclusiveness and acceptance.
Reminiscing on all the time she spent playing kickball, riding bikes, flying kites and playing games outdoors as a child, Slaven Hurley used these experiences to write about the lollipop kids’ lives engaging and playing outside with their friends.
The lollipop kids are illustrated in different colors representing different ethnicities, which carries the subtle message of accepting others as they are.
In the first book, one of the lollipop kids shrinks after her mother wipes cotton candy off of her face.
“In the end, that lollipop is smaller now, but looks do not matter. She is still loved by everyone,” Slaven Hurley said.
The stories are also written in rhyme, an idea that came to Slaven Hurley’s mind when thinking about how her father used to tell her stories in rhyme too.
“It was fun putting my ideas into a rhyming style, and I felt like a young child when I saw the illustrations Toby Mikle created for my stories,” Slaven Hurley said.
After she published “The Lollipop Kids,” Slaven Hurley said she was eager to get the second story started.
“I already knew what I wanted it to be about, so I got to work putting my ideas into rhyming stanzas, and soon created ‘The Lollipop Kids Get Vanilla and Chocolate,’” Slaven Hurley said.
The second book came out at the end of 2019 and focuses on the lollipop kids getting a surprise treat, with the story showing families of all different colors and cultures.
The third story, “The Lollipop Kids Meet the Gumdrops and Help Feed the Hungry,” was written shortly after, but Slaven Hurley said she was unsure what she wanted the story to be about at first.
“I jotted down some ideas, but kept putting my notes aside, still not coming up with anything I felt I could work with,” Slaven Hurley said.
Her final push to write the third book came from a 5-year-old girl whose mother she worked with.
“From the time she received my second book, the little girl frequently asked her mother, “When is that lady going to have another book?” Slaven Hurley said. “So, when I was on vacation last year, I finally said to myself, ‘just do it’ and I decided on a topic and started putting the story together.”
The third book is about the lollipop kids meeting the gumdrops and helping them feed the hungry.
“They all work together and plant a vegetable garden and they invite everyone to come and take whatever they need,” Slaven Hurley said. “I love the third one just because of what they do for everybody in the community.”
Slaven Hurley has not yet started writing more stories on the lollipop kids, but said she wants to focus on continuing to distribute her three books for children to enjoy.
“I have really enjoyed writing these stories and, who knows, maybe I will write more,” she said.
The target age group of her books is 3 to 6 years old, but she has been told that children as young as eight months have been captivated by the stories.
The lollipop kids books were published by Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and are available on Amazon.
