Mary has always had a special place in her heart for children. She nannied for years and was called “the real-life Mary Poppins”. She believes life is an adventure and should be filled with exploration and making treasured memories. As a little girl, her dad would invent unique stories from any topic she chose, all the while encouraging her to add her own ideas and imagination. That was the beginning of her love for creating stories. She moved to Spokane in 2014 with her third-grade daughter who was just learning of Spokane history. Together they visited Riverfront Park and the Looff Carousel and fell in love with its beauty and magic…and the idea for this story was born.
Mary grew up in St. Louis Missouri, where her mother said she started making up stories with pictures as soon as she could hold a pencil. She moved out West and lived in many states before settling down in Spokane Washington with her husband and two sons. There she decided to become a teacher and teach children how to make their own pictures and stories but never gave up on creating her own. Today, she has a Masters in Teaching and a series of children's books she has written and illustrated. She is excited to work on this book with Mary and they hope you will follow along with them on this creative journey.
Mary Carpenter had this great story idea and was looking for an illustrator to help her bring it to life. She sawMary Pat’s illustrations on the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Books for Writers and Illustrator) and knew she was the one. They met for coffeeand had an immediate connection. Mary suggested that they apply for the Spokane Arts Grant in 2021, they were awarded the grant to createa full color picture book, PONIES IN THE PARK. Their website www.poniesinthepark.com will allow you to follow each step in the process asthey write and illustrate and publish the book. The website with also contain many fun activities and information. When the book is finished,they will be gifting copies to all elementary schools and l libraries in Spokane.
