After more than five years, a local author finally saw her book in the hands of its intended readers on Saturday.
Yolanda Ridge, a Rossland author who writes for young readers, launched her newest book, Inside Hudson Pickle, at the Rossland Public Library on Saturday.
“I have been thinking about Hudson Pickle for more than five years. So this is how long it takes to get a book published,” she explained to the young readers who joined her for the launch.
She has written so many other books since she finished writing Inside Hudson Pickle that she had trouble remembering the character’s age at the launch — a fact she revealed after everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to celebrate the character’s book being published.
Hudson Pickle is a 13-year-old boy who decides to try out for the school basketball team after being cut from the AAA hockey team in the previous season. But his asthma may keep him from making the team, and in the meantime, he also has friend troubles, bully troubles and his uncle’s house has burned down.
Ridge explained some of the key plot points before reading from a section of the book where Pickle talks to a friend about wanting to be a firefighter.
As part of the launch, kids had the chance to try on firefighter gear and shoot hoops inside the library.
Ridge said it was exciting to have kids responding to the book.
“You got through the publishing process, you get lots of feedback from adults — editors, publishers, agents — but you don’t get a lot from the kids, so it’s really great to see them come out and be excited about the book,” she said.
Ridge was also grateful to the library for hosting and allowing the kids to play basketball in the building.
