Mylo is 29 years old. He’s green, soft and cuddly, but that’s a little weird because he’s actually a moose and he’s a toy.
Because he is such an unusual colour, it got his owner thinking that the oddity might make for a good children’s book about fitting in and being kind.
It all started when Gale Riding and her husband (then boyfriend) Steven and his brother, Ian, went to the fair back in 1995.
Ian played the darts-popping-the-balloon carnival game and told Riding she could pick her prize.
“I picked out Mylo and have had him ever since,” Riding said.
Mylo looks good for his age.
His eyes are full of mischief and his antlers are just as perky as when he was brand new. The greeny-blue of his coat is what really stands out. Let’s face it, a green moose makes you take notice.
“So I wrote the story for my son Nicholas and then as my kids got older I learned that children learn better when it’s in rhyme,” Riding said. “So then I wrote it in rhyme. The book went in the drawer for about 25 years and then I decided to pull it out and so here it is.”
She got a storyboard made from her original handwritten story and her working title was Mylo Isn’t So Different After All but the publisher made her change it to Mylo Makes a Friend.
She inscribed a message to herself in the first copy of the book.
“Don’t keep your dreams in a drawer,” it says in cursive.
As a result of that reminder, Riding has continued Mylo’s story in a series and three more tales are as yet unpublished.
In the first book Mylo, whose name means merciful, is born and on wobbly legs the little green moose begins to explore the world only to find there are some challenges that come with being different.
“The book is about kindness and friendship,” Riding said. “His mom teaches him how to walk, how to talk and what to eat and then he wants to know why he’s different."
In the book Mylo asks the frogs and they tell him to go away, he looks at himself in the water and sees what others see, he talks to a deer and a bunny but no one wants to play, Riding added.
"So then Mandy the Moose comes along and she doesn’t care that Mylo is different," Riding added.
“Milo and Mandy spend time each day together, in rain or sunshine – no matter the weather, they told each other their secrets and dreams and the two of them are part of a team,” Riding quoted from the book.
“So then he has a best friend and everyone realizes that they’re not going to turn green if they play with him and so they want to join in because Mylo and Mandy are having so much fun.”
The book is based in fiction with facts laced throughout as each animal is introduced and information is included about what they really eat and where they really live.
The book is at Studio 2880 in the Book Nook, at Books & Co., 1685 Third Ave., and at Coles at the Pine Centre Mall.
For more information about the book visit galeriding.com/ or www.mylofindsafriend.com/.
