Memory Garden Bebe the Tiny Beast by Dianne Look Edited by Sara Vick Illustrated by Julia Bradfish, Haley Dahlke, Hannah Dahlke, and Melissa Clay Reissmann D.C. Everest Senior High School Mr. Matthew Cepress, Faculty Advisor
Memory Garden Bebe the Tiny Beast By Dianne Look Edited by Sara Vick Illustrations by Julia Bradfish, Haley Dahlke, Hannah Dahlke, and Mrs. Melissa Clay Reissmann Copyright 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in the critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, at the address below. Mr. Matthew Cepress, Faculty Advisor D.C. Everest Senior High School 6500 Alderson Street Weston, WI 54476 Phone: 715-359-6561 Email: mcepress@dce.k12.wi.us Twitter: @dcelitmag Ordering information: Use the contact information listed above to make arrangements for orders, or purchase copies online at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/dcelitmag D.C. Everest Area Schools Dr. Kristine Gilmore, Superintendent Dr. Thomas W. Johansen, Principal Dr. Todd Bohm, Assistant Principal Mr. Jeffrey See, Assistant Principal
Memory Garden Bebe the Tiny Beast
There is a place called the Memory Garden. It’s easy to find - you just go down the road aways and turn at the river.
There you find a dainty yellow house surrounded by towering trees and the most beautiful garden with flowers every color of the rainbow.
The woman who lives there takes care of the garden. Two huge beasts, Augustus and Louis, live with her and watch over this place. Life there is peaceful.
There are two little chipmunks that visit the Memory Garden named Chucky and Christy.
The woman who takes care of the garden always puts out sunflower seeds for the many birds that live there. And everyone knows sunflower seeds are a chipmunk’s favorite food.
Every morning Chucky and Christy watched for the woman to feed the birds. As soon as she went back in the house, they would run and scoop up every sunflower seed they could carry in their chubby cheeks.
One sunny day, Christy saw the woman putting out seeds again. “Chucky, come quick! Look at all those sunflower seeds the woman is putting out!”
“Oh my!” said Chucky as drool dripped from his mouth.
“Chucky! We have to be extra careful because the two beasts live there. They are so big! I just know they must be mean!” warned Christy.
Just then, a small voice emerged from around the corner.
“Hello?” said the voice “My name is Bebe. What are your names?”
“We’re Christy and Chucky. We’re chipmunks.” Their eyes grew wide as they looked at the small creature with an even smaller voice. “We have never seen a creature like you. What are you?”
“I am a beast.”
“A beast?” said Chucky. “You can’t be a beast! Beasts are huge and scary like the two beasts that live in the garden. We want to come inside and eat more of the sunflower seeds, but we are afraid.”
“Augustus and Louis? They would never hurt you! The beasts are my friends! Their job is to protect the creatures who live in the garden. We all come in many shapes and sizes, and they protect each and every one of us.
They care about everyone, and I know they’d care about you, too. Come inside and join us! We would love to have someone new to play with!�
“Well,” Chucky said, “you do seem very nice for a beast... and we sure would love some of those tasty sunflower seeds.”
Christy thought for a moment, took a breath, and exclaimed, “Ok! We will come inside the garden with you!�
So into the garden they went. There they were greeted by the two huge beasts.
“Hello,”
boomed the beasts. “We are Augustus and Louis, and we would like to be your friends!”
The rest of the day the chipmunks and all three beasts played in the yard and explored the garden.
They even found a little hole under a shed that would be a perfect home for two little chipmunks.
The chipmunks realized that Bebe was right. The big beasts were just as friendly as the harmless, tiny beast.
That day the chipmunks learned that friends are everywhere. Big or small, anyone can be your friend. All you have to do is say “Hello.�
About the Author
Dianne Look worked at Marathon Savings Bank and she had a smile and kind words for everyone. Dianne was an avid gardener, an animal lover, and an artist. The jewelry she made brought joy to many and raised money for the American Cancer Society. After retirement, Dianne planned to create children’s books. Dianne Look lost her life during the tragic events of March 22nd, 2017 in Weston, Wisconsin.
“One door in your life is closed. You have an unlimited number of new doors to go through now and God is standing behind every one of them. Start opening doors and see what he has in store for you!” -Dianne Look
(from left to right) Mr. Matthew Cepress, Hannah Dahlke, Haley Dahlke, Julia Bradfish, Sara Vick, and Mrs. Melissa Clay Reissmann
Memory Garden: Bebe the Tiny Beast was edited and produced by Sara Vick. The hand-painted watercolor illustrations were created by Julia Bradfish, Haley Dahlke, Hannah Dahlke, and Mrs. Melissa Clay Reissmann. The faculty advisor of this book is Mr. Matthew Cepress. Memory Garden is set in Linux Libertine typeface.
Afterword I met Dianne (she liked to be called “Dee�) in 1988. Immediately, I was enamored. Such a charming woman who would have a sincere smile and would treat everyone with respect for all who would meet her. On Valentine’s Day 1992, we were married. Thus continued the best years of my life. She loved all living creatures (except spiders) and hoped for a world where all could live in peace and harmony. Never a day would go by that she would not go out of her way to do something positive for another person. Her early adult life was not easy and it would have been understandable if she held a negative attitude. That was not her... She looked for the positive and would treat all who dealt with her with respect and kindness. That was her... She made original jewelry and any money gained went to charity. She volunteered for fundraising efforts with many organizations and could be counted on to go over and above what was expected. When a co-worker was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she made an extra effort to help them during their difficult time. The amount of times she put herself forward to help others are too numerous to mention, right up to her final act of leading a co-worker out an emergency exit to flee an abusive husband. She loved children stories. She believed they could be a strong method to build a positive foundation to growing minds. Always a positive, always a better world. I miss her everyday since she was taken from this life. I hope that these simple stories plant the seeds of love and fairness and will take root to make this world a better place. I love you honey and I miss you so much. Forever, Bob
I never knew Dianne Look. Like many people in our community, I learned about her after the events of March 22nd, 2017. I never knew her as the lady who worked at the bank. I never knew that she kept a garden, or had dogs that she loved. And until recently, I never knew that she had planned to write children’s books when she retired. My discovery of all these things started with an email I received in January 2018 from Renae Rudeen, a friend of Dianne’s who had a draft of a children’s story that she was hoping we could find a way to get published, with the profits going towards her favorite charities. My students and I have been publishing our literary magazine, Point of Convergence, since 2004, along with many other student written and produced books. It sounded exactly like our kind of project. As I look back on the process now, I feel fortunate that we were given this publishing opportunity. Ms. Rudeen wasn’t aware that we’d been publishing books for nearly 15 years when she sent me the manuscript, yet somehow the manuscript found us. Sara Vick, Julia Bradfish, Hannah and Haley Dahlke were in my writing classes at the time and the perfect people to take on a project of this nature. And we are all blessed to work with Mrs. Clay Reissmann, who helps us all understand how to make words into pictures. Dianne never got to personally fulfill her dream of becoming an author. We’re honored to help that dream become the reality that you hold in your hands, and to join you in celebrating the work of “Dianne Look, published author.” Mr. Matthew Cepress Faculty Advisor
Thank you Thank you to Renae Rudeen and Denise (Renaud) Preston for your support in helping Dianne’s publishing dream become a reality. Thank you to Dianne’s son and daughter, Chuck and Christy, and of course her fuzzy friends, Augustus and Louis, for being the inspiration that led to this story. Thank you to Mr. Bob Look for your guidance and trust through this process. We are honored to be able to make Dianne’s publishing dream a reality.
Dianne Renaud-Look Scholarship All profits from the sale of this book go toward the Dianne Renaud-Look Scholarship. To make arrangements for purchase, please contact: Mr. Matthew Cepress Faculty Advisor D.C. Everest Senior High School 6500 Alderson Street Weston, WI 54476 Phone: 715-359-6561 Email: mcepress@dce.k12.wi.us Twitter & Instagram: @dcelitmag Purchase copies online: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/dcelitmag
Thank you for your support!