PORT LUDLOW — It’s that bad dream so many of us have had: Scrambling around, trying to get ready for school, running to catch the bus, but things keep getting in the way and then, then, there goes the bus, and you’re not on it.
Dorothy Cox, a Port Ludlow artist, wanted to offer some comfort to children who have had such stress-inducing dreams.
So Cox, who taught preschool in Helena, Mont., before retiring three years ago, decided to use her artistic skill to create Oh No!, a book about a boy named Peter.
She started work on the book last year and found a local publisher, Dan Youra of Port Hadlock; after eight months of work, Peter’s story has a happy ending.
It’s been a long trip, Cox said. She was teaching preschool, reading stories to the kids and watching their entranced reactions, when the tale of Peter’s dream popped into her head.
She jotted verses onto the back of an envelope and waited for the right time to create the accompanying artwork.
The time came last summer for Cox to create Oh No!, which she calls a colorful drama and one that shows young readers how a dreamscape, real as it feels, is nothing to fear.
Peter, after all, awakens and realizes it’s Saturday morning. He doesn’t have to catch that bus at all, and Oh No! turns into “oh, yes,” Cox said.
The 24-page book is available via Cox’s website, www.MyOhNo.com, for $10.
“I’m very happy it’s finished,” said the author-illustrator, “and I’m onto the next project,” which is illustrating “Blum,” a poem written by Cox’s adult daughter, Regina Wood of Port Angeles.
It’s only fair, Cox said: Wood financed the publication of her first book.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.