Jelly Bean is pleased to announce its twelfth ‘Book of the Month’, The Adventures of Bobo by Graham and Andrea Webster. This child-friendly book explores loneliness.

The Adventures of Bobo was a lockdown project for grandparents Graham and Andrea Webster.  With not much to do, and plenty of time to do it in, they decided to finish off a story they’d created months earlier. The text was originally penned by Graham and takes the reader on an exciting journey, exploring abandonment, solitude, and ultimately friendship. Much like Black Beauty or Disney’s Incredible Journey, animals feature heavily in this story. Evoking the qualities of traditional picture books such as The Tiger that Came to Tea or the Beatrix Potter stories, the book also fits nicely within a child’s current lockdown mentality.

The book was originally written for Andrea and Graham’s granddaughter, Sophie, to highlight the importance of friendship. Graham says: “Lockdown has been a difficult for everyone, particularly children and the elderly. With the rule of six being implemented, the situation is only improving incrementally. Children, of course, have returned to school, but we believe that they are still feeling abandoned. For many of us and especially children, not being able to see our friends during lockdown has reinforced the importance of friendship. Friendship is a strong theme in our book.”

Lockdown offered Andrea a perfect opportunity to add beautiful illustrations to enhance Graham’s story. She says: “Thirty five years ago we took Elizabeth, our toddler daughter, to a local farm and she fell in love with a large brown horse. She called him Bobo in a pre-language sort of way. Later, at Christmas, when her grandparents gave her a beautiful brown rocking horse, finding a name was simple. We called it Bobo.”

Andrea and Graham have really enjoyed watching Sophie’s rapt response to the stories, and believe that the wider world should be able to enjoy them too. Graham continues: “It’s always been our ambition to get the book published. Lockdown has given us the chance to do this and the reception has been great. People can’t get enough of Bobo’s equine adventures. We hope that younger readers will enjoy them as much as Sophie did.”

Head of publishing at Candy Jar Books, Shaun Russell, feels The Adventures of Bobo is a sure fire winner. He says: “You can see the love and passion that has gone into each page. All children will fall in love with Bobo. Along the way they’ll learn about coping with the ups and downs of life, particularly when you are young. It inspires the reader to overcome setbacks, remain hopeful and try to do their best. Bobo did this, and eventually found his place in the world!”

The Adventures of Bobo is available to purchase from here.