Children’s book honors memory of author’s grandson

Published 1:55 pm Sunday, February 11, 2024

The story behind “The Giant,” a new children’s book published by a Baker County author, is many years in the making.

But the timing of release is significant — “The Giant” debuted on the week of Gideon Brown’s fourth birthday.

The book is dedicated to Gideon, who was killed in an accident on Jan. 30, 2023. “The Giant” was written by Gideon’s grandfather, who goes by the pen name Omuugn.

The story

Omuugn said the poem that would eventually become “The Giant” came to him during a lunch hour many years ago. The poem soon became a song, and he would sing it at bedtime, accompanying himself on guitar, to his 19 children.

“It was a way to relate to them,” he said. “And I’ve sang this song at family reunions over the years.”

In November 2023, Omuugn’s daughter suggested he turn his poems into books.

“Since November I’ve had four books published,” he said.

Prior to “The Giant,” he released “Fearless Phil” and two volumes of “Insights and Wisdom of Omuugn.”

“The Giant” was illustrated by Omuugn’s daughter, Jenipher Brown, an established artist who lives in Virginia. He said they went through the story line-by-line, and Jenipher painted watercolor drawings based on their conversations, then turned the paintings into digital art.

The book was published by his daughter Angela Brown with Life Long Publishing.

“Everything kind of fell into place,” he said. “Angela made this a top priority — she wanted this to come out on the week of Gideon’s birthday.”

Gideon’s birthday was Feb. 7.

“The Giant” centers around a little boy who feels quite small.

“Children want to be big, want to grow up quickly,” Omuugn said.

The little boy didn’t want to be small.

“He wanted to be a giant that could do everything,” the author said.

But then the boy finds a tiny

beetle.

“He realized (that) to the beetle, he was already a giant,” Omuugn said.

Here’s a line from the book cover: “Join us on this journey as we explore the joy that comes from celebrating who you are, where you are, and as you are.”

“The Giant” is available through Amazon, where it hit the No. 1 bestseller list in Children’s Fiction on Social Situations the same week it released.

Omuugn is working on more books.

“I have 42 journals full of information,” he said.