About the Book
Ravyn Alexis
Hicks-Badger started this project when she was 7 years old. She lives with her
family: her father Rodney, her mother Crystal, and her big brother David, along
with her two cats Buddy and Lucky.
When Ravyn was 5 years
old, her father was offered an opportunity to work on the island of Bermuda at
a Luxury Resort. The idea of living in another country and going to school
there appealed to the family, so they moved. While living in Bermuda, Ravyn and
David were educated following the British curriculum. That is where Ravyn
developed her reading skills and her love for writing.
Because Crystal
(Ravyn's mom) was retired and a stay-at-home mom, the family decided to get a
cat to keep her company. Rodney (Ravyn's dad) asked his friends and co-workers
how to adopt or foster cats in Bermuda. A woman who worked with Rodney told him
about a six-month-old kitten whose owner could no longer care for him because
her cat had been hit by a car and the family could not afford to care for their cat. At that
time his name was Blue, but after a few days the family decided to change his
name to Buddy. The name Buddy really fit his personality, as he always followed
everyone around and tried to snuggle.
The family lived in
Bermuda for a couple of years, but decided to return to America when Rodney was
offered a position in Southwest Florida. When they relocated to America, they
had to stay in a hotel for a few weeks while searching for a new home. This is
where Ravyn and her mom came up with the idea to write a book about Buddy. Buddy
had already had so many exciting things happen in his life - from living with
two families in Bermuda to relocating to the United States - that they thought
a book would be a great way to share his adventures.
Ravyn came up with
lots of different ideas for the book when she first started the project, but
they didn’t really seem to fit Buddy’s personality. One day her brother David
said, “Buddy’s so lazy, I bet he doesn't do anything but lay around all day.” Ravyn
decided Buddy wasn’t lazy - he was just tired from working all day while she
was away at school. That’s when she started writing the story that became The
Adventures of Buddy the Cat: Buddy's Mouse Chasing Company.
Ravyn wants to share
Buddy with the world. She doesn't want people to judge a book by its cover (or
a cat by his naps). She doesn't think that Buddy is lazy, no matter what David
says. It’s important to Ravyn that kids use their imagination and to never give
up when working towards their goals.
What We Need & What You Get
We need your help to
make this book a reality!
The Adventures of
Buddy the Cat: Buddy's Mouse Chasing Company is a project that’s been almost two
years in the making. We have an AMAZING illustrator in Amanda Erb. We need your
help to cover the cost of the final illustrations, publishing the book, and spreading
the word about the book.
Our goal is to raise
$10,000 for this project. We have some great perks planned for donors!
Please donate and help
Ravyn's dream come true of having her book made available to other young
children in schools, libraries and book stores across the country and around the
world.
Risks & Challenges
We have never written
a book or done anything like this before, so we’ve partnered with a company
(Woodward Press) to help us bring The Adventures of Buddy the Cat to life. Our
family will be coordinating most of the work on the book, so the main challenge
will be to stay organized and to keep the project moving smoothly. We’ve given
ourselves a two-month timeline for our campaign and have set our delivery dates
for another two months after the campaign closes so we can be certain we have
the time to follow through on our commitments to you.
The family really
wants to show Ravyn that if you work hard on your dreams, they can become
reality. We’d like her to learn that although it takes a lot of hard work and
dedication to reach your goals, you should never give up on them. Ravyn has
made all of the final decisions regarding this project. She’s also attended
every planning meeting and is expected to contribute to each and every one.
During this process, she’s learning all of the different elements that go into
publishing a book.
We will come together
as a family to make this project come to life even if this campaign isn’t fully
funded, but we could really use your help to reduce the cost. This project is
already turning out far better than we expected. With your help, we believe we
can produce a book that has real value to children everywhere.
Other Ways You Can Help
Please donate whatever
you can. Every dollar helps!
If you can't donate,
please help us by spreading the word on social media platforms. We need all
kinds of support to help make Ravyn's dream of becoming an author and
publishing this book come true – so tell your friends, family, neighbors,
educators, co-workers, librarians, animal lovers and everyone about this book!
