Local author Jackie Cousins publishes a new children’s chapter book

Local author Jackie Cousins publishes a new children’s chapter book.

By Wendy Lamond

Nosy & the Penguins in No Sense Ville is a new children’s chapter book recommended for kids aged six to 10 and published by local author and wedding officiant Jackie Cousins.

The book is about a magical dog named Nosy and his friends that must save their town from a blizzard and an invasion of penguins. The story focuses on friendship and believing in magic. The illustrator is the very talented Danielle Stephen, who is also from St. Marys.

Cousins has been writing for over three years. She started writing when she broke her right ankle and then again six months later when she broke her left. In total, she has written 11 books.

Two of the books she wrote are for adults, focused on wedding poems and celebration of life ceremonies. Cousins was an elementary school teacher, which led to the rest of her books being aimed towards children, featuring silly poems and geared towards primary students.

Stephen has done the illustrations for all of Cousins’ chapter books.

“I write for fun and publish on my own,” Cousins said. “Any proceeds I make, I have donated to the local food bank, breast cancer foundation and Make A Wish Foundation.

She hopes to write one more in this series about the mysterious dog named Nosy. Her books are available on Amazon.

For more information on Cousins’ books, email jackiecousins56@gmail.com or visit mjcousinsauthor.com.

The following is an excerpt from Nosy & the Penguins in No Sense Ville.

“When he opened the chicken coop door, he was not at all prepared for what he saw. Candace was right when she said, ‘No chickens.’ Where there should have been chickens, penguins were roosting! Toby quickly shut the chicken coop door and staggered in shock back to the house. He was just about to enter when he saw one lone penguin in the yard. On one side of the penguin was a wild coyote ready to pounce on it. On the other side of the penguin was Nosy, the dog! Nosy growled menacingly and his eyes were staring down the coyote.”