A new children’s book written by a local man may be the perfect end-of-summer, and going forward, book for 5- to 9-year-olds.
“My Pet Pig,” written by Shawano’s Greg A. Stezenski, is a warm and endearing story of a child growing up on a Shawano farm with a pet pig named Max.
“I wanted to write a book showing how much pets can mean to children and adults and the responsibility that goes along with it.,” he said. “I also wanted to pick a pet that’s not a common pet.”
He said that he envisions parents reading the book with preschoolers, or elementary-aged children reading on their own. The story is engaging for young children, and the illustrations fit the story perfectly.
A lot of what’s in his debut children’s book reflects farm life 70 years ago.
“I’ve had several (people) come up to me and tell me how amazing life was when we were children,” he said. “The story is life on a farm, a love story between the child and his pig.”
His enthusiasm for this book is catching.
He said that the pig in the story is fiction, but everything else is from Stezenski’s childhood. After some people have read it, he said they’ve told him they couldn’t believe some of it wasn’t true.
“It’s so real when you read it,” Stezenski said.
Talking about growing up on a Shawano farm, he reminisced about going to West Shawano Grade School.
“Our fifth grade class had only seven students,” he said. The school was out in the country, in Richmond,” Stezenski said. “It was really a pleasure growing up. There’s a little bit in the book about my teacher, Miss Krumbach. She was a wonderful teacher, kind-hearted. I think about her a lot.”
Stezenski said that “My Pet Pig” is a good book, and he’s happy how it turned out.
“It is really popular, especially around Shawano now,” he said. “It’s a popular book with elementary teachers and is in several libraries already.”
His sister, Debbie Stezenski, is a former elementary teacher and has spread the word in the education community about the book.
He said that he’s seen some people buy a book and then buy another copy. Stezenski was surprised that 50 copies sold in just a few weeks.
The book includes references to the Shawano County Fair and the Bonduel livestock auction. The story’s location is based on the farm owned by his grandparents, Emil and Ruth Glueths.
Their farm, adjoining Stezenski’s parents’ farm, was about 2 miles south of Shawano, behind where Arby’s and the Shell gas station are now.
Illustrations in the book and on the back cover are based on Stezenski’s memories of his grandparents’ farm. He dedicated the book to them.
His parents were Joe and Gladys Stezenski. “Really wonderful parents,” he said.
He is the oldest of four children, two boys and two girls. His siblings are Debbie Stezenski, Sue Fletcher and Jeff Stezenski.
His book is also dedicated to two of his siblings, Debbie and Jeff.
He also dedicated the book to his son, Rick, “For helping make ‘My Pet Pig’ a reality.”
Stezenski was the first in his family to attend college. He went to Winona State University in Minnesota on a baseball scholarship and won 20 games there as a pitcher. While earning his bachelor’s degree, he wrote an article on pitching.
He did some more writing, mostly articles on hunting and fishing, followed by two short books. “101 Ways to Get Your Deer Every Year” was written around 1980. In the 1990s, he wrote “How to Catch Big Northern Ice Fishing.” Stezenski said he sold a lot of these booklets, mostly through word-of-mouth.
He said that Rosie Rey with the Shawano Area Writers, developer of www.mamarosiesdream.com and teacher with Shawano Community Education, was the catalyst for getting his book published.
He knew that he wouldn’t be able to get “My Pet Pig” ready to publish on his own, so he sought Rey’s professional help. She took his handwritten notes, edited them and met with him to ensure the book’s illustrations she created on her technical platforms were what he envisioned.
Rey said that, after she showed him a work-up of the first picture she created, Stezenski said, “That’s the farm I grew up on.”
The book was published by Rey’s Endure Ink, in collaboration with BookBaby, which helps authors with every step of self-publishing.
“My ultimate goal is to have a movie made about the book. I’ve already approached the director where they are making a movie in Wausau right now,” Stezenski said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
AT A GLANCE
TITLE: “My Pet Pig”
AUTHOR: Greg A. Stezenski
PAGES: 36
PUBLISHER: Rey’s Endure Ink
PRICE: $12.95 for paperback, $4.95 for e-book
WHERE IT’S SOLD: Heather’s Beans and Books, 1235 E. Green Bay St., Shawano. Online at www.amazon.com and www.bookbaby.com.
