Grandfather And Granddaughter Collaborate On Story
The tale of Aria and Ducky began on a seashore boardwalk when Aria, who is now 7, was only 18 months old and she received a stuffed duck as an arcade prize. Aria, who lives in Manheim, often told her grandfather, Andre Renna of Leola, of her adventures with her best friend Ducky and of the activities they had planned.
One day, when Aria was about 5 1/2, Andre was pushing her on the swing at his house, and she began to tell him a story about the birthday party she was planning for Ducky. After each push, Andre had to wait for Aria to come back to hear the next detail about the party. "She would say, 'Well, Ducky and I ...' and then, whoosh, she was gone away," recalled Andre. In her story, Aria included many details, including the names of all her stuffed animals that were invited to the surprise birthday party and information about the cake, the fruit punch, the balloons, and a big banner. "She said, 'You know what, Papa? Something happened at the party,'" said Andre, who reported that Aria's pet cat, Jasmine, had somehow ruined the party. "But Ducky was OK," Aria assured Andre, "because he knows we really love him."
Enchanted by the story, Andre told the tale to his wife, who suggested he write it down. "I said, 'I am not a writer, I am a retired health care executive and industrial engineer,'" recalled Andre, sharing that his wife replied, "Just do it."
"So I did it," said Andre, who shared his written version with friends and received praise for it. His sister, who is a teacher, proofread it for him, and with a clean copy, he decided to take the next step and find an illustrator. After researching illustrators online, Andre's son, Chris, who is Aria's father, suggested Andre reach out to one of his childhood friends, David Leonard. "I coached the kid in soccer," Andre recalled of Leonard. "I looked at David's website and fell in love with his work." After working with Leonard for some time, Andre had the illustrated book in hand. He researched the world of publishing and opted to self-publish. "The Adventures of Aria and Ducky: The Surprise Birthday Party," has been out since June of 2021. It is available at the Lancaster Barnes and Noble and on Amazon.
Andre has done several readings at local schools and eateries, and he has donated books to places children frequent such as Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development. He noted that people who purchase the book often want it signed by him and Aria and Ducky. "People send me pictures with messages that say, 'This is me reading it to my granddaughter.'" One message said, "I read it again the other day to my 4-year-old, and he was sad when Ducky was sad."
"I thought (the book) might be something Aria could have for a long time," said Andre, who noted that Aria's school principal sat Aria beside her at the front of the classroom and read the book to the girl's classmates. "That is priceless for a kid," he said.
Andre noted that the only downside of having written a book is the requests for a sequel. "Everyone wants us to write a second book," he said, "but Aria has to come up with the story."
Readers who wish to learn more about the book may visit http://www.ariaandducky.com.
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