SWAMPSCOTT — Tom Burke of Swampscott has just published a new children’s book called “Daring Duck.”
The theme of the book is about trying new things and gaining confidence, themes Burke said were inspired by his 7-year-old and 5-year-old.
“It’s about four animal friends who live in a forest and trying to find new adventures,” Burke said. “One starts to get nervous and her friends encourage her, and then she gains confidence in the process of trying new things.”
The characters in the book are Daring Duck, Adventurous Ant, Brave Bunny, and Curious Kitten.
“Through Daring’s inspiring story, children will learn the importance of perseverance, determination, and a positive attitude. They will be encouraged to embrace new experiences, take risks, and believe in themselves,” the book’s description says. “With colorful illustrations and a delightful story, ‘Daring Duck’ is the perfect book for children ages 4-9 who love animals, nature, adventure and friends.”
His kids, he said, love the book and were heavily involved during the entire creative process.
“They’ve given me ideas,” Burke said. “I’ve read them concepts throughout the whole thing, and they think it’s hilarious, they think it’s a lot of fun.”
One aspect both of his children love about the book is finding the ant character, who Burke has hidden throughout the pages of the book.
“Daring Duck” was self-published through Amazon. Burke said he also wants to sell it in local bookstores, and will donate copies to the library and schools.
Burke said writing a children’s book like “Daring Duck” has always been on his bucket list because he remembers how much he loved the books he read in his youth.
“As a family we always read ‘Wacky Wednesday,’ and I remember reading it with my family and having so much fun with it,” Burke said. “I thought it’d be a really fun thing to make something that brought some fun to some families.”
In the future, he said he would like to write another children’s book.
“I purposely left [‘Daring Duck’] a little open ended and I think there’s a fun opportunity to create more based on these characters,” Burke said. “It scratched the creative itch that I have and I love doing it, so I think that I’ll do more.”
