Leamington-born author turns personal poem into children's book

By Mark Ribble

LONDON — What began as a personal poem written during her pregnancy, has turned into a soon-to-be-released book for Catherine Valle Taylor.

The Leamington-born actress, songwriter and soon-to-be nurse will officially launch her book, Ava Jean’s Wings, on August 22.

Ava Jean’s Wings began as a poem that was written in the middle of the night while she was pregnant in 2019.

When she lost her baby at 19 weeks gestation, she wondered if the poem that had come to her was a message from her baby.

CATHERINE VALLE TAYLOR

“I realized that maybe it was a message from her,” she said.

Soon, Catherine was convinced that her personal poem should become a book and she enlisted the help of Champa Gunawardana, a Sri-Lankan artist who had gone through a similar experience. Gunawardana did the illustrations for the book and it is currently being printed.

The publishing date of August 22 has significance.

“It’s Ava Jean’s birthday,” she said.

Catherine started a Kickstarter page and campaign to help get her book published. If you visit mydaysarebooked.com, you’ll be linked to Catherine’s Kickstarter site and can order the book and other merchandise from there, up until August 1.

A sample of pages and layout for Ava Jean’s Wings.

It’s expected to be available on Amazon and other widespread book sites on August 22.

The Cardinal Carter graduate has represented this area in many pageants and competitions over the past decade and has fond memories of her hometown.

The cover art for Ava Jean’s Wings.

Catherine is currently attending the University of Western Ontario in the nursing program and has one more year to go with her education. She and her husband are living in London.

The 32-page hardcover book follows young Ava Jean, who gets to heaven and finds that none of the other angels want to display their wings. Ava Jean decides to venture outside and show her wings and fly, which encourages the others to do the same. It’s aimed at the Kindergarten to Grade 3 age group.

“I hope it teaches children to ask why and challenge the status quo,” Catherine says. “Angels are meant to fly!”