Lily's story
Lily was born in Merced, Northern California on February 3, 2013. She
grew up in San Francisco as a companion dog for her Mom, who was not allowed to
work while her Dad was studying. From San Francisco Lily traveled the world.
Lily got her name from the song “Pictures of Lily” after her parents went to
“The Who” concert in Las Vegas. In 2014 the family moved to Cape Town, South
Africa where she had many more experiences. Lily is the only Schnauzer in the
world who has walked a glacier in Alaska and climbed Table Mountain in South
Africa. Lily developed granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME), a brain
disease, just after her first birthday. GME is a very dangerous sickness for
dogs. Lily was extremely brave, and with the help of a great doctor and the love
of her owners, she recovered from the disease and subsequent chemotherapy and
cortisone treatments. She is now in remission and is back to being the same
cute Schnauzer with a big heart and loads of personality that she was before
her illness.
Three of Lily's books, based on her life, have been published to date. Lily's books have also been translated into French, Spanish and Chinese. How Lily got her bling back is set in Washington Square, San Francisco, and deals with issues related to friendship, jealousy and strangers. Its also introduce children to time capsules. Lily goes to Alaska is a fun story that plays of on a family holiday on Alaska, and deals with fatherly love.
Two other titles, dealing with Lily's move to a far of land away from her friends and brave Lily going to hospital, will be released in April and May.
Lily's ABC Safari has been published on the 1st of March as an iBook, with othe platforms following shortly. The e-book exposes a younger generation to the adventures of Lily. The book is a fresh approach to learning the alphabet, and is definitely not your typical "A" is for Apple type book. Lily introduces her friends to wild animals that you get while on Safari in Africa, thus adding another level of learning, as it makes children aware of some endangered species, and introduces conservation at a younger age.
Lily's ABC Safari has already been funded, but now we want to create a more engaging and quality experience for our young readers, by creating an animated e-book with your help.
About the author
Steer Goosen developed the concept of the children’s
book series “The Adventures of Lily.”
The Adventures of Lily introduces
children to adventures and traveling through the eyes of Lily, the miniature
Schnauzer. Steer introduces simple facts about the places and characters Lily
encounters, intertwined with little life lessons. Steer is a great believer
that traveling and life experiences are among the most important building
blocks of a person’s education. One should never pass up any opportunity to
gain even the smallest experience. Immersing yourself in different cultures
offers the opportunity to understand others much better and to discover new
perspectives on life, helping to create a class of world citizens through whom
humankind can become united. Life experiences and travel cultivate and
accelerate creativity and innovation.
The merging of fantasy and reality through the use of
actual events in Lily’s life is the canvas for the stories. Backed up with
photographs on the website, it is aimed at making Lily’s character engaging and
identifiable. The website is also interactive, and allows children to share
their stories with their peers on the blog.
The Impact
By Steer Goosen Lily's big personality has crept into the hearts of all her friends in the USA and South Africa, over the first two years of her life. She was nearly taken away through illness, but she remained brave and strong and overcame her sickness, which was associated with chemo treatment and lots of other medication and the side effects thereof. I feel she has a lot of value to offer young children and their parents.
The style of illustrations used in Lily's books help the author to add to the impact of the story by involving the readers imagination. The author also aims to entertain the reader through humor in every scene and throughout the story. The partnership between the illustrator and the author is truly magical, creating a truly immersive experience.
By Scott R. Harpole
Kids stories are often difficult to review, especially because I'm also a children's author. However the concept of seeing the world from Lily's viewpoint (she's a little schnauzer that travels to Alaska) is both humorous & engaging. The pictures are refreshing, simple and creative. The story is fun and makes you want to find out what happens next. Excellent job!
Lily's story inspires children to deal with social issues such as jealousy, friendship, strangers, moving house, parental love, conservation and lots more. Lily's stories are great reads for children of all ages.
By Deon TerBlanche
Fantastic kids book, we enjoyed every moment of it. The story is fun and Lily is just adorable, we couldn't put it down and HAD to finish it in one sitting. The graphics are perfect for a kids book, no clutter each one just perfect to explain the page (some things need to be left to the child's imagination.) I can recommend this book to kids of "all" ages, I loved it and I am 48 years old!
Below are some of the illustrations taken from "How Lily got her bling back" and "Lily goes to Alaska". (Text omitted)
Transforming Lily's stories, in particular "Lily's ABC Safari", would allow parents access to a interactive and engaging conceptual learning tool for toddlers.
What We Need & What You Get
The funding is required for the following production elements:
- Voice Over
- Sound Track
- Animation
- Publishing
The perks Lily overs for your help include large discounts on her books and also mentions as well as personalized books.
Risks & Challenges
The vector files has already been funded and are in production, should the target not be reached the book will still be produced but it would just take a bit longer. Three of the 5 books in the series are already produced, 2 of them are published and available for distribution as perks, with a third already in postproduction, and would available as a perk in March 2015.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't contribute financially you can still support Lily by leaving a review, spreading the news or posting a short story of your adventure with your pet on her blog at the www.theadventuresoflily.com. She would love it more than a bone.
Please review the latest adventure of Lily the amazing Miniature Schnauzer, available now as a special made for iBooks version. Lily's latest adventure is also available in Chinese, Spanish and French.
Don't forget to review her other book, Lily goes to Alaska, on Amazon, Lulu, Smashwords, Kobo, Made for iBooks and Google Play. Also available in Chinese, Spanish and French in all the stores.
Or just share with your friends on the Indiegogo share tools above!