A local author and illustrator have collaborated on a new children’s book that bring to life the biblical story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale and living to tell the tale.
Don Dewey, a teacher at Stonybrook Middle School in Steinbach, joined forces with Joel Harnett, an 18-year-old from Niverville, to share their talent, and their faith, in God’s Love Is Bigger than a Whale.
Dewey was born and raised in the United States but moved to Canada 12 years ago with his wife Valerie and their two children, Amber and Micah.
As a young child, Valerie briefly went to school in Niverville and still had relatives there, helping the couple to feel confident that southeastern Manitoba would be a good place for them.
By now, the Dewey family includes three grandchildren. His desire to share his faith with those kids was part of what finally convinced him to fulfill his lifelong dream of writing a book.
He says that he can relate to the story of Jonah, where God tells Jonah what to do even though Jonah isn’t too keen to do it. The story, he adds, also demonstrates God’s grace and compassion.
Dewey says hopes the book can remind its readers that we should all have grace and compassion for each other.
Harnett, the illustrator, graduated from Niverville High School this past June. Harnett and Dewey were introduced to one another last year by Tony Clark, an art teacher at NHS who knew that Dewey was searching for an illustrator.
Dewey says that he immediately felt a kinship with Harnett and knew that he wanted to work with him. The pair have created a charming book full of bold watercolour illustrations.
“It has been my dream since I was a little kid to illustrate books,” says Harnett. “I’ve always enjoyed drawing, creating stories and characters. I love imagining!”
This Little Light Artistry in Niverville was an important part of Harnett’s artistic journey. He took classes there throughout his elementary and middle school years and says that he acquired a great deal of knowledge through the program.
“I learned a lot of skills in watercolour painting, mixed media work, and just putting creative ideas on paper,” he says. “As I grew older, I continued to create, draw, and illustrate. I made little comics for friends and family, progressing from pencil crayon drawings on looseleaf to scanned ink comics for home-made publishing. I also was able to illustrate for Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Magazine for several years, through an art contest.”
Harnett has big plans for the future and hopes to pursue illustration as a career. This fall, he will attend Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, British Columbia to continue learning about art and music.
“After that,” he says, “the sky is the limit!”
As for Dewey, he’s already working on another book, this time focusing on the famous biblical story of Daniel in the lion’s den. He hopes to collaborate with Harnett again.
