Companion animals bring comfort and friendship to many in these stressful days of lockdown and social isolation. Pets are a very immediate way of bringing nature back into our lives even in constrained circumstances.
I have written a story for children about the relationship between a foundling kitten we named Nougat and our old cat Ned, himself a rescued feral cat. Ned helped us raise Nougat by being an exemplary “foster mother”. Although Ned helped us raise several kittens over the years, kittens who we either adopted or fostered before finding them permanent homes, his relationship with Nougat was extra special.
The story Nougat the Kitten finds Ned the Caring Cat developed around some of the photographs taken of Nougat and Ned, from when Nougat first arrived at about 10 days old and over the next few weeks. As many of the photos were taken in low light they are very grainy. I salvaged them by giving them a pictorial treatment called ‘colour engraving’ using the Photoscape editing software.
These illustrations record Nougat’s first few weeks and his relationship with Ned, and they form the basis of the story. Once the story was written, I made a small booklet titled Nougat the Kitten finds Ned the Caring Cat.
The front cover of the book
The title page
The first pages of the story book
There are two ways that you can access this story. One way is to watch the video – narrated by me – which is an audio-visual version of Nougat’s story. The video is just under 6.5 minutes in length and is available on YouTube. See below:
The other way to access the story is to make your own booklet – here is how to do it. Email me at naturebackin@mweb.co.za to order a free PDF copy that I will send you by email. The PDF document is formatted so it can be printed and made into a simple booklet.
To give you some idea of what making your own booklet will entail here are some details.
I made the small booklet using a home printer and basic tools I had at hand. In the absence of a guillotine paper cutter, I used a set square, a small cutting board and a knife to cut the paper to size. If a cutting board and knife are not available scissors can be used instead.
If you order a copy, the PDF document is laid out to enable back-to-back copying of double page spreads that are printed onto A4 paper that is cut in half and then folded to create the booklet. The booklet when closed is the size of an A5 sheet of paper.
A short line marks the middle of the A4 page where the paper can be cut in half with the aid of setsquare and cutting knife
Cut along the edge of the set square using a cutting knife and cutting board. If you do not have a knife and board draw a line along the edge of the setsquare and use scissors to cut along the line
Fold each page in half and flatten the fold to a sharp crease with something smooth like the barrel of a pen. Once all the pages are folded nest them inside each other and then check to make sure the pages are folded the right way and are in numerical order (each page is numbered)
Hand sewing with needle and thread or a sewing machine can be used to stitch the spine in two places on the centre crease to secure the pages together. Close the booklet after stitching and use the barrel of a pen to press the spine fold flat
As the page edges will not be quite flush, the edges can be trimmed using the setsquare and cutting knife
And that’s it. You now have a little story book to share with the children in your life. Pictured above are the front and back of the booklet
So, to reiterate, if you would like to print your own copy and make your own booklet, please email me at naturebackin@mweb.co.za to request a free PDF copy of the story book. I will email it to you with additional information on how to print the pages in the correct order.
I hope that the story of Nougat and Ned will bring some good cheer to children who are confined at home during this period of social isolation.
Posted by Carol
April 28, 2020 at 6:28 pm
What a beautiful idea and you have certainly crafted the story so well with words and pictures. You are inspiring me to try and format the stories I am sending my granddaughter. At present just on word with some inserted photos. Your illustrations are gorgeous.
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April 28, 2020 at 8:46 pm
Thanks so much. I am so pleased you like the illustrations. It was quite fiddly to format the words and text but I am using quite rudimentary skills. I used Microsoft Publisher to format the pages.
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May 1, 2020 at 3:39 pm
Thanks, you have done a great job.
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April 15, 2020 at 1:35 am
How cool is this?!! Wonderful story, and I love the way you enhanced the old photos. So nice to hear your voice! I found it especially touching as I had a rescue cat who was totally deaf. He lived a long and happy life, though, and was the subject of many stories I wrote for my first graders. When I meet former students who are long since grown up, I find that, while they may remember some of my classroom lessons, what really touched them my stories about “Gatito, my deaf cat”. Kids so identify with that vulnerability. Anyway, bravo to you! Hope you are safe and well!😊🐱🐈
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April 20, 2020 at 1:52 pm
Thanks very much Julie. How lovely that your students responded to and remembered Gatito, and that as children they identified with the vulnerability of your rescued deaf kitty. Was Gatito a white cat? I like the name Gatito so looked it up and see it is the diminutive for ‘cat’ in Spanish. Lovely!
We are self isolating under lockdown and we are well thanks, and I hope you are too,.
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April 22, 2020 at 2:23 am
Gatito was a pure white cat with blue eyes…Such a sweetheart! I was learning Spanish at the time I found him in a barn–hence the name. Here in Massachusetts, we think we are at the peak. Just planning to stay put at home for a while. Glad you are well!
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April 14, 2020 at 7:45 pm
Thank you for sharing that Carol! I watched the video. What a sweet story and how lucky Nougat was to find Ned (and you!) Although it is many years since I’ve had a pet cat, I have occasionally been involved with rescuing ferals.
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April 18, 2020 at 5:54 pm
Thanks Adele. And we were lucky to find Nougat, although of course each and every cat is a character its in own way.
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April 14, 2020 at 3:11 pm
Wow that is lovely! So enjoyed the story of Nougat and Ned. This is truly creative and special well done Carol. As you know cats are very close to my heart as we also have had to care for several rescued scraps of our own through the years. I will send you a mail for the pdf copy please!
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April 14, 2020 at 4:27 pm
Thanks very much Carol. I am really pleased that you enjoyed the story. Those rescued scraps really do find such a special and enduring place in one’s heart, and the bond one develops when hand rearing a kitten can be very intense.
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April 13, 2020 at 12:17 pm
Glad you made the booklet. very beautiful story. And what a special cat Nougat is.
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April 13, 2020 at 7:45 pm
Thank you Edith. Nougat is a special little guy 🙂
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April 12, 2020 at 9:33 pm
What a delightful story! I had read your other cat posts and couldn’t wait to watch your video and hear your story. It’s not just for children. This 62-yr-old big kid loved it! Beautifully illustrated with your photos. Just lovely.
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April 12, 2020 at 9:36 pm
Oh thanks so very much Cheryl. Nougat and the late Ned have burrowed out such unique and enduring places in my heart. (Strange we should be online reading each other’s posts at the same time though we are in such different time zones.)
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April 12, 2020 at 11:52 pm
I was thinking the same about our timing. We are bending space and time.
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April 13, 2020 at 7:38 pm
Unfortunately though it got late here and I went to bed before I read your reply!
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April 11, 2020 at 4:21 pm
Thank you for sharing how you achieved it. I have been struggling with how to make my own Setswana children’s books at home for my non-existent future child(ren). xx
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April 12, 2020 at 8:53 pm
I hope you persevere with the books. Sometimes working within the limits of what one has at hand can lead to surprisingly useful compromises …
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April 13, 2020 at 1:00 pm
Thank you
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April 11, 2020 at 5:28 am
Beautifully written and read Carol….sharing with all my special little people 🤗. Thanks to you, Old Ned and Nougat. ❤️
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April 12, 2020 at 8:48 pm
Thanks very much Anne. I hope they like the story of Nougat and Ned 🙂
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April 10, 2020 at 4:43 pm
How charming. I love the illustrations, and it’s great to hear your voice too. I’ll be emailing you so I can organise for my grandchildren to see this too. What a lovely idea. Thank you.
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April 10, 2020 at 8:01 pm
Hi Margaret – I am so please that you liked the story of Nougat and Ned. I hope that my South African accent was not too much of a shock! 🙂 Your grandchildren can see the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1psKRjw9fY
Please do send me an email if you would like a copy of the printable PDF version of the storybook.
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April 11, 2020 at 8:43 am
Will do! I’m on the case!
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April 10, 2020 at 2:04 pm
Wow, Carol loved your story book for children. Very creative bringing joy to them.
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April 10, 2020 at 8:26 am
Well, those 6.5 minutes flew by. Thank you Carol for making this heart warming, beautifully written and made story available. You are so clever and compassionate
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April 10, 2020 at 2:32 pm
Thanks Mariss and thanks for watching (listening?) to the video and story. Very happy that you like the story 🙂
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April 10, 2020 at 8:00 am
Absolutely delightful, Carol. Congratulations!
Sent from my iPad
>
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April 10, 2020 at 2:31 pm
Thanks so much Richard. Nougat is sitting next to me as I type this. Little does he know that he is establishing himself as a personality 🙂
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April 10, 2020 at 5:13 am
Well done! This is very creative and should bring joy to many!
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April 10, 2020 at 2:29 pm
Thanks very much Anne for your kind comment 🙂
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April 10, 2020 at 3:49 am
Quite charming and very thoughtful to make it available to print out.
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April 10, 2020 at 2:28 pm
Thanks Graham. I was a bit self-conscious about posting this, so am so pleased you like it 🙂
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April 10, 2020 at 3:37 am
How delightful! The grandkids are going to love the video.
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April 10, 2020 at 2:28 pm
Oh thanks very much Gunta. I hope your grandkids do enjoy it 🙂
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April 10, 2020 at 2:12 am
Dear Carol, What a wonderful idea! Your story is I’m sure an absolute delight and would be perfect for young people who are home bound and hopefully beyond. A project to make and read at home. C xxx
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April 10, 2020 at 2:27 pm
Thanks very much Christeen. So glad you liked it 🙂
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April 9, 2020 at 11:24 pm
What a sweet and wonderfully endearing story, Carol. They sound like they were very special friends. It is very kind of you to post it for donation to animal rescue shelters. All our pets are from shelters – they make the best companions, IMO.
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April 10, 2020 at 2:24 pm
Thanks very much Eliza – it was a bit of a departure from the norm doing this post! I totally agree that rescue animals make fantastic companions. Keep safe and best wishes.
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