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10 | FEB.8 —FEB. 21, 2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
COMMUNITY
Panthapusses, Unties and
zee-zees... oh my!
They started out simply as bedtime
stories. Maxine Rock would spin her
yarns before tucking in her two grand
daughters for the night.
“When the girls were growing up,
we always spent of a lot of time togeth
er,” the Buckhead writer said. “I ran out
of things to read, so I started making
things up.”
Soon the girls were joining in. Ju
lia Schiffer, who’s 9 now, and Rachel
Schiffer, who’s 12, began to add their
own contributions to their grandmoth
er’s stories. The three of them created
their own fantasy world.
“I was the idea maker,” Julia said one
recent afternoon as she and her sister
sat on a couch in their Buckhead home
with their grandmother to talk about
the book. “I added a few ideas. At one
point, there are poems. I did the poetry.”
Rachel came up with ideas for illus
trations.
“My daughter thought it would
be a great thing to write these down
for the kids,” said Rock, who’s already
published books such as “Totally Fun
Things To Do With Your Cat,” “Total
ly Fun Things To Do With Your Dog”
and “The Marriage Map.” Rock thought
others might find their made-up bed
time stories appealing, too, after she re
alized her daughter and son-in-law occa
sionally were listening in at the bedroom
door during story time.
In January, Rock, Julia and Rachel
published their stories in a book titled
“Adventures in Faun Forest.” Their book
was released with a party at an Alpharet
ta printing house that prints books to
order. About 70 to 75 people attend
ed, Rock said. The gathering attracted
friends, neighbors and students from
The Galloway School, which Julia and
Rachel at
tend, she
said.
Fauns, it
seems, make
up a big part
of the stories
in their book.
“Why fauns?”
Rock asked.
“We want
ed characters
who were hy
brids because
everything in
the faun forest were hybrids.”
In other words, to hear the three au
thors tell it, they’ve invented a world
where every animal is a bit mixed-up.
“We made things up out of animals that
already exist or were imaginative,” Julia
said.
“Imaginative?” Rachel asked.
“Imaginative,” Julia said.
Well, imaginative or imaginary, their
animals sound like few others. Their
stories are populated with panthapuss
es (part panther, part octopus), furtles
(part fox, part turtle) and zee-zees (part
zebra, part chimpanzee).
“I can make up a story on my own,
but it was easier when I was working
with my sister and my grandmother,”
Julia said. “It felt like a big accomplish
ment.”
“It is a big accomplishment,” said
Rock, who says “Adventures in Faun
Forest” is her 10th book altogether.
So, how many for the granddaugh
ters?
“Well, do you include books pub
lished in class?” Julia asked.
No.
“Then one,” she said.
AROUND
TOWN
JOE EARLE
JOE EARLE
Maxine Rock,
center,
with her
grandchildren
and co
authors,
Rachel
Schiffer, 12, at
left, and Julia,
9. The three
collaborated
on a book
titled
“Adventures in
Faun Forest.”
