La Grande writer, Enterprise artist team up to produce children's book about Pendleton Round-Up

ILLUSTRATOR AND AUTHOR: Nancy Attebury, right, of La Grande and Joan Madsen of Enterprise hold their new book “ ‘Twas the Night Before Round-Up.’’ Photo/ROB MADSEN

Attebury of La Grande and Madsen of Enterprise are the author and illustrator of “ ‘Twas the Night Before Round-Up,’’ a new children’s fiction book about the Round-Up. The book is an adaptation of Clarke’s 1823 classic “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.’’

To date the new children’s book is proving as popular as the Round-Up’s Happy Canyon show. At least 550 copies have been sold since its Aug. 20 release. It appears that the first printing of 1,000 copies will soon sell out and that a second printing will be needed.

“A tale had been told, it is one we had heard about horses that sped through the night in a blur,’’ writes Attebury.

Four children familiar with the local legend come to the Round-Up Grounds to greet the horses. The “cowkids’’ grab the horses’ reins and begin riding like the wind and participating in barrel racing, calf roping, pole bending and other events the evening before Round-Up.

Later the cowkids have the choice of remaining in the arena or staying with their horses. They leave, answering the “ ...call to dash away, fly away, zip away all.’’

Attebury said one of the biggest challenges of writing the book was getting words to rhyme effortlessly with the same cadence as Moore’s classic Christmas poem.

“I didn’t want it to seem forced,’’ Attebury said.

Attebury, a former grade school teacher, is experienced at connecting with children via the written word. She is the author of 16 published books ranging from a biography of Gloria Steinem to a book about the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. Her previous books were written under contract with educational book publishing companies.

“ ‘Twas the Night Before Round-Up’’ is published work by Attebury’s Mt. Emily Press. The author did not attempt to get a publishing company to print her latest work.

“I didn’t think any national publishers would be interested because it is about a regional subject,’’ she said.

Attebury had a sense of liberation while writing “ ‘Twas the Night Before Round-Up’’ that she did not enjoy while writing her other books. She explained that when working for a publisher of educational books one faces frustrating constraints. Not so when the author is also the publisher.

“I liked the freedom,’’ Attebury said.

Attebury, who puts on writing workshops in local schools, has lived in Northeast Oregon since 1974. She and her husband, Rich, taught in Wallowa County schools for a number of years before retiring. They have lived in La Grande four years.

Madsen, who lives in Enterprise with her husband, Rob, and their two children, grew up in La Grande. A 1985 La Grande High School graduate, she attended EOU and has a BFA degree in art from Oregon State University. Madsen is the daughter of David and Carolyn Gilbert of Joseph. David Gilbert served as EOU president for 15 years through 1997.

Madsen tried to capture some of the wonder of “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’’ when creating her illustrations.

“The book plays off the magic of Christmas,’’ Madsen said.

She completed her illustrations with the help of Craig Nichols, a cowboy and rancher from Enterprise. Nichols checked Madsen’s early sketches to make sure her horses had the proper equipment for each rodeo event they are shown participating in.

Madsen said one of the biggest challenges she faced was making sure the faces of the four children portrayed in the book looked the same throughout. She knows if the faces did look different readers would pick up on inconsistencies in facial characteristics.

“As humans we are ingrained to recognize faces. We recognize when something is not quite right,’’ Madsen said. “With horses you can fudge a little bit.’’

The horses greeting the children at the Round-Up grounds are like the reindeer in Moore’s poem only more caring and interested in children.

“They are wild horses but they are also magical and nurturing. They are there for the children,’’ Madsen said.

Locally, copies of “ ‘Twas the Night Before Round-Up’’ are available in La Grande at Sunflower Books and Earth N’ Book and at many stores in Wallowa County. Copies will later be available at all public libraries in Union and Wallowa counties and all public grade schools in Union County. The distribution to libraries and schools in Union County will be made possible by a Union County Cultural Coalition Enrichment grant.

Attebury and Madsen will give a program about their book and participate in a signing Oct. 22 at Cook Memorial Library. The program begins at 7 p.m.