Description

---

With short, silly verses and imaginative illustration, Once There Was… is a fun book loaded with life's little lessons. Adults and children alike will enjoy hunting for references to classic stories as they read poems involving a dancing dog, an acrobatic cat, a determined elephant, a contortionist giraffe, an unlucky rabbit, a mentoring monkey, a super ant, and more!Colorful, carefully drawn scenes depict common situations with a twist and a bit of the Texas tall tale while showing that even though life can be hard, and wishes can go unfulfilled, we can find hope and persevere.

About the Author

---

Clara Jo Bailey loved writing whimsical poems about animals, insects and even socks. She enjoyed crossword puzzles and crafting beautiful items out of leather, paper and crochet. A faithful Christian lady, she taught children's Sunday School her entire adult life, Flannel-graph Bible stories were a favorite part of her lessons for her and her students. Clara grew up and attended school in San Antonio, and went on to become the salutatorian graduate of John Marshall High School. She received multiple college scholarships but chose to marry and be a stay-at-home mom to her three children. Her husband of forty-eight years enjoyed her wonderful stories and poems and is happy to share them with you.

Bryan Welborn began his art career by 'correcting' his own Dad's artwork with crayons. (He put red and blue lines on the top of a pair of white socks, which his Dad had obviously overlooked.) It was all uphill from there. Bryan started out with selling original fantasy artwork while dreaming of writing and illustrating children's books. But then he met a beautiful woman who insisted on getting married. So, captivated by her charm, he married her and lived happily ever after. Well, sort of… They ended up having two gorgeous children, who, surprisingly, were always hungry and wanted to eat at regular times. Bryan, being the dedicated father that he was, spent the next 20 years working at jobs other than as a children's book illustrator, to make sure their little bellies were full, that they had almost current video games, and that they would grow into mature adults who only occasionally would leave empty cereal boxes in the pantry. Now, it is time for him to get back to his first passion so he can give his lovely wife of 30 years a nice anniversary gift. So please, follow Bryan on social media and buy all his books. And tell all your friends and family to do the same! His wife and kids say thank you very much!