Telfer

FROM PAGE 10

As a kid, a barn feels like a castle. If the barn’s a castle, then there’s a kingdom, and the farmer has to be the king, and it’s through this imaginative play that Telfer preserved the history of old barns and farmsteads that sit or have sat right here in the Illinois Valley.

“One of the things I wanted to convey was city boys bringing their own toys because they don’t think there will be much to do on the farm,” Telfer said. “But then, they’re really drawn into the rural beauty.”

But what really makes this story unique are the illustrations, Telfer added. She said it’s rare to find a book filled with full-color photographs of real farmers, farm kids, city kids, and real working farms.

“Every page in the book has a story behind it,” Telfer said. “There’s a photo of a farmer’s field with development behind it in the book. We met an elderly farmer who still lived on his farmstead surrounded by a Home Depot. Hearing the farmer talk about how he was hanging on to his farm, even though he’d been offered a lot of money, is very moving. It’s real life.”

Finding a publisher to get Grandpa’s Treasure on the shelves was challenging, despite the award-winning photography and rich, rural history, but once a large agricultural company caught wind of the story, thousands of copies were sold. The company gave the books as customer appreciation gifts.

Telfer has completed a sequel to Grandpa’s Treasure entitled Grandpa’s Magic. While Grandpa’s Treasure is about two little boys at harvest, Grandpa’s Magic takes the reader on an adventure with two little girls at planting.

“Grandpa’s Magic is even more educational, about a grandfather explaining to his granddaughters how a seed turns into a crop,” Telfer said. “I call it magic because it’s really amazing. As a Christian, it’s the way God has created it to be. If you think how amazing it is what those little, tiny seeds grow into and how the cycle continues; that’s how God designed the natural world.”

Grandpa’s Magic takes the reader through an entire planting season, the ups and downs of the growing season throughout the summer, ending at harvest. To share the agriculture lesson embedded in Grandpa’s Magic, Telfer hopes to once again partner with an agri-business to sponsor the book for gifting to farm families and perhaps local school children.

“We’re surrounded by beautiful farmland, but most kids have never been on a farm,” Telfer said. “I’d like them to learn how amazing the crop cycle really is.”