Signal Mountain’s Joe and Megan Holmes are releasing their collaborative effort, “The Five Book,” in the coming weeks.Few authors are so willing to admit that their characters are drawn from real life, and few families are as artistically inclined as the Holmes family.
“The Five Book” is based on a song written by Signal Mountain resident Joe Holmes and illustrated by his daughter Megan, a recent Signal transplant. The song was written about young Sarah Holmes, now 23, on the eve of her fifth birthday.
“We used to call her Tigger,” Megan Holmes said of her sister Sarah, who at that age was always bounding around and saying something sassy.
On the particular day that sparked the song, her exuberance was revolving around her upcoming milestone.
“I took all the things she was talking about and wrote a song,” said Joe Holmes, who could often be found singing lullabies in the hallway that ran between the bedrooms of his six children.
When Megan Holmes, four years apart in age from Sarah, was in college, she took it upon herself to begin drawing illustrations to go along with the song.
Now, a little more than four years later, “The Five Book” is taking shape.
“It’s about keeping a sense of innocence, wonder and excitement,” Megan Holmes said. “I think this book will be inspiring, and not just to kids. I feel like it will help them find joy in everyday life.”
The father-daughter team plans to release the children’s book along with a CD of the song within the next two months.
The Signal Mountain community has a chance to see the song performed by Joe Holmes and his sister Colleen Laliberte at the Community Tree Lighting Festival being held at the MACC Saturday, Dec. 7, from 5-8 p.m.
“It’s just a fun, rollicking song,” said Laliberte, who often performs the song with Joe Holmes at schools and festivals.
Megan Holmes, who recently moved to the mountain from Tallahassee, Fla., plans to work as an artist and host workshops at the MACC. She is already planning another collaboration with her father, a book called “Muscles in My Pockets,” and is working toward a certification in art therapy.
The two recently started Holmes Family Publishing to get their work out to the public. The book should be available soon through Amazon.com and local stores, but until then you check out Megan Holmes’ illustrations by searching for “Megan Holmes” on Facebook.