Menu

Ten years ago, Deborah Kogan Ray had a seed of an idea for a new children’s book: a year-round harvest. But because, as she says, the plot was "pretty boring stuff for the kiddies," the story outline was put away in a file cabinet. A few years later, Kogan Ray pulled the story out and "bit by bit the characters emerged." The result was Lily’s Garden, winner of the 2004 OFBF Children's Literature Award.

Kogan Ray attended Farm Bureau’s annual meeting to accept her award.

During her visit to Columbus, she spoke to fifth-grade students at Berwick Elementary School about writing and illustrating books and how she came up with the idea for Lily’s Garden.

The book is about a young girl living on a farm in Maine and her grandmother living in California. The two exchange letters and packages during the year. The story describes the cycles of planting and harvesting in two different climates. Sidebars throughout the book feature facts about the products that are grown and recipes using some of the foods.

Kogan Ray said her story was originally titled A Harvest Calendar, but she renamed it to give it a more personal touch. Two sisters who live near the author helped inspire the character Lily.

"Lily’s Garden is really about Lily’s garden growing and her growing up," Kogan Ray said.

Kogan Ray, who lives near Philadelphia, is the author and illustrator of 12 children’s books. She also is the illustrator of 67 other books.

Many county Farm Bureaus and others donate the OFBF award-winning books to schools and local libraries. So far, more than 800 copies of Lily’s Garden have been distributed. To get your copy of Lily’s Garden, visit www.ofbf.org or call 614-246-8243.

Caption: Deborah Kogan Ray talks about her book, Lily’s Garden, and answers questions from students at Berwick Elementary School.