Since 2015, Park City resident Melissa Marsted’s “Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers” book series has taken youths and adults to the United States’ Red Rock canyons in the southwest, national parks in the country’s northeast and even a marsh in Logan.
The author’s new adventure, “Rascal’s Year of Adventures,” which will be published on Sept. 20, through her own company, Lucky Penny Publications, heads to Wood Buffalo National Park, located in the upper reaches of Canada.
“It was inspired by one of the biggest beaver dams and lodges there and nearly impossible to get to,” she said.
The story follows an American beaver named Rascal, who had a hard time paying attention to things around him, according to Marsted.
“His mom tries to teach him how to be a responsible beaver, and the arc of the story is made of these mishaps he gets into,” she said with a laugh. “After a while he starts to notice some of the signs he needs to pay attention to.”
The story also is about the benefits beavers bring to the environment, Marsted explained.
“Beaver dams help prevent wildfires,” she said. “So the first page actually focuses on the lodge and dam and what beavers do around the dam.”
Melissa Marsted and her dog Clover take a rest after hiking at Banff National Park in Canada. Marsted will publish “Rascal’s Year of Adventures,” the 12th book of her “Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers” series, on Sept. 20. Credit: Photo courtesy of Melissa Marsted
Preventing wildfires is a theme close to Marsted’s heart. The author, who lived in California in 2008, lost her home in the Santa Barbara Tea Fire, one of 6,255 fires that ravaged the state that year.
“So, my stories also are intended to have a little ‘home’ in them,” she said.
Rascal was inspired by Parka, the beaver, the Canadian National Parks mascot.
“I would go to these parks’ bookstores and find there were no beaver stories,” she said. “You’ll see beaver signs everywhere, but not stories.”
Local beavers also inspired Marsted to create the character.
“Every time I walk by the Swaner Preserve, I’ll go and check out the beavers,” she said.
Marsted knew a little bit about beavers when she started writing “Rascal’s Year of Adventures.”
“I pretty much knew as much as I have put in the book, but I learned a little more as I was writing,” she said. “One of the things I learned about was their teeth. I found out if they didn’t chew enough, their teeth would grow and grow.”
Marsted was on a road trip with her son, Peter Bermant, when she first saw illustrations from Alexandra Lehner, who would eventually become the new book’s illustrator. (See story on page B-3.)
“Alex is doing 16 illustrations, which is basically one to two a week,” Marsted said.
The new book was designed by Aileen Aquino.
“She has worked with me since book No. 4,” Marsted said. “And this book is No. 12 overall. So, we have come up with a format that is so easy to drop into.”
Marsted finished writing “Rascal’s Year of Adventures” in 2023, the same year her 10th book, “Ole’s Dark Sky Journey” won the Center for the Book award from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
“Life happened, and the book had been sitting there for a while,” she said.
Marsted is currently reviewing the book and making little adjustments.
“Normally we order a print proof,” she said. “But we’re so close, and I wanted to have this ready for my 60th birthday, which is on Sept. 20.”
Marsted said it’s easy to skip the print proof step, due to the publishing model.
“I use Kindle Direct, which is print-on-demand,” she said. “So we can correct things as we go along.”
In addition to turning 60, Marsted reaches another milestone with “Rascal’s Year of Adventures.”
“I’ve been writing these ‘Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers’ books for 10 years,” she said.
Marsted began writing her first book, “Pablito the Speckled Bear,” after running an ultramarathon to celebrate her 50th birthday.
“Some of my runner friends convinced me to run some ultramarathons,” she said. “My sons were in college, so I was an empty nester.”
During her second ultra, which took place two months after her 50th birthday, was a 50K run at Antelope Island. And that’s when Marsted came up with the idea of writing children’s books that took place in national parks and other nature areas.
Other books in the series include “The Secret Life of Phil,” in which a black-footed ferret explores the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota, and “The Bird That Lives in Paradise,” which is about a red-shafted northern flicker who tours the Washington State Parks and Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
“Writing these books has kept me occupied,” she said. “This has kept me doing something that brings me joy, especially during times when things have been difficult.”
Marsted thought “Rascal” would be her last book in the series, but that changed while she was on a hike with her dog Clover.
“I came up with an idea and basically wrote a book about the Yosemite Valley in one week,” she said. “And Alex wants to do a book about pollinators, and monarch butterflies. So I started that one as well.”
For information about Melissa Marsted and her “Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers” book series, visit luckypennypublications.com.
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