Town's every kindergartener gets
a 'ruff' read

Childrens' author, Kiwanis team up for
book giveaway

by Ashley Keesis-Wood- Windsor Beacon
Photos by Carol Hirata and David Persons.

   Clifford the Big Red Dog has competition, and his name is Murry Murray.

Murry might not be big, although he is red, but he has some important lessons to teach Windsor children.

"Our goal is to donate one "Murry Murray" book to each Windsor kindergartener," said Robert Groke, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Windsor. "We're partnering with the author, Barbara Murray, to do so."

The books cost $17. Half of the cost goes to Murray, and half will be donated by the Kiwanis Club to the Windsor Parks and Recreation Department to help build playground equipment in the new Boardwalk Park.

As part of the promotion, Murray and illustrator Sam Salas will be present at two book signings, where they'll sign copies of the donated books. On hand will be more copies of the "Murry Murray" series, which has three books to date. One signing will be held on Dec. 8, from 9 a.m. to noon at Signature Bank of Windsor, located at 355 Eastman Park Drive. The other will be on Dec. 15 from 9 a.m. to noon at Loodles Coffee Books and Art, located at 1180 Main St.

"The Bungalow Coffee and Ice Cream shop will provide coffee for the Signature Bank signing also," Groke said.

Murray, a Fort Collins resident who authored the three books, said she decided she wanted to write children's books after her first trip to the library when she was six.

"And now at age 60, I'm doing what I wanted to," Murray said.

The idea to write using her dog Murry's perspective developed when she noticed that dogs and young children have similar concerns in some ways.

"For example, I remember when my boys were little and went through a phase where they wouldn't wash their hands before dinner," Murray said. "They'd run the water, but not use the soap or towels. And that's a lot like Murry, who doesn't like going to the groomer or getting a bath."

From that came the book that is being used in the Windsor fundraiser, "Sometimes We Have to be Clean."

"All the stories are true stories about Murry's experiences," Murray said. "All the characters in the books are real."

Murray said she gets some of her ideas from the children who read Murry's books.

"When I do readings for kids, they'll tell me about some of their concerns and ask whether Murry would write about those," she said.

This newest book is also bilingual, written in English and in Spanish.

"The illustrator, Sam, is a wonderful guy who happens to be Hispanic," Murray said. "We were talking one day about how many people are bilingual in our area, and we decided it would be terrific to make the next Murry book bilingual."

Murray said she and her husband are learning some Spanish by reading the book.

"Our niche with these books are to help organizations through donations, as opposed to selling them in traditional bookstores," Murray said. "So I guess you could call Murry a philanthropist fundraiser dog who writes books."