Avondale native, now an author, to read book Saturday

An memorable interaction with his granddaughter Rhiannon many years ago ushered in an opportunity for Avondale native Bob Menefee to impact children all over through a gift he’s been given to write.

Menefee remembers when Rhiannon was 6, she went on a vacation to New York City. A short time after returning, she walked into her grandpa’s home office and he asked her about the trip. She went on and on, but she said that the only thing that could have made it better was if her cat, Magic, could have been on the trip with her.

That encounter led Menefee to begin writing a book last January called “Join Magic: Explore New York City.” The work was completed and published in July.

“At the time, I started making notes. The notes went in a drawer, but I never forgot about it because of her excitement,” Menefee said. “I’ve never written much — just short stories or obituaries — but last January or February, I found the notes and began working on writing a book.”

The book chronicles Magic — a big, fluffy white cat with one blue eye and one green eye — and his tour of the Big Apple.

Menefee is thankful he was able to get the book published — one of the biggest hurdles for a budding author — and has read it aloud to audiences at libraries and schools around where he lives.

The author will make his hometown-debut 10 a.m. this Saturday at the Fontanelle Public Library where his neice, Melissa (Menefee) Engles, is library director. He is eager to see how the community here reacts to the book he wrote with young children in mind. He reads the book, welcoming questions and comments along the way to spark the imaginations children often already have.

“In that older range, they’re reading, but in the younger range, they’re sitting on grandma or grandpa’s lap, mom or dad’s lap either reading books or having books read to them. That’s a special thing,” Menefee said. “As an older man, I don’t have anyone to read to anymore. It’s nostalgic for me to go back to when I was read to or when I read to our sons or granddaughter. It’s a very close, warm moment — and that’s special.”

Menefee, 78, who lives in Hartland, Wisconsin, is retired from a career in various corporations, ranging from transportation to theaters.

Menefee’s book is available for purchase online.