Community News

SON'S LOVE OF BUGS INSPIRES BOOK

'MAXI AND THE BUG BOX' TELLS THE STORY OF A YOUNG BOY WHO COLLECTS INSECTS

ABBY GREEN

Jessica Hodskins's middle child, Maxi, loves bugs. And it's a love that shows itself in some unique ways.

"He's the kid that comes home with pockets full of worms after a rainy day because he wants to give them a good home," she said. "Last summer, every time I'd give him a bath, I'd be washing six or seven ants out of his hair that he wanted to keep as pets."

The St. Catharines parent of three said she writes stories for her kids all the time, and for Christmas this year she decided to make three-year-old Maxi an actual storybook about himself and his bugs.

"I wrote it and I illustrated it, and I showed it off to a couple of friends that had kids his age and they were so excited (about it)," she said. "I thought 'If they like it this much, let's see if I can actually do something with it.'"

Her book "Maxi and the Bug Box" chronicles Maxi's adventures making bug friends in the garden.

"It's a little story about him and his love of bugs, his respect for them, and the joy that they bring him," she said.

Three-year-old Maxi is one of Hodskins' three sons. The other two are seven years old, and 17 months.

An artist, Hodskins has been painting and writing for most of her life.

"At a very young age, I would always be writing stories," she said. "I had a teacher in Grade 3 ... that had us write weekly short stories, and that's where it kind of took off."

Aside from painting, drawing, and writing, Hodskins has done martial arts, and even worked as a tattoo artist.

She moved to St. Catharines from Oshawa for a fresh start, and said she's made great friends here.

This is the first book Hodskins has ever written and illustrated, and it's already won the Golden

Plume Award from Writer's Republic.

"Maxi and the Bug Box" is available for purchase on Amazon.

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2022-05-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281840057275439

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