Brittany Georgalas won’t receive her degree in Animation and Media Management until May, but she’s already got a “jump start” on her career with the publication of “Feleap the Frog and the Great Big Circus Adventure,” a children’s book that she wrote and illustrated.
An exhibit devoted to Ms. Georgalas’ first book and actual props seen on its pages will be on display in the main lobby of Reed Library through Saturday, March 14.
“Feleap the Frog” tells the story of, well, a young frog who loves the circus and dreams of performing under the Big Top. His friends in Pollywog Pond chuckle at the notion, but Feleap – inspired by his mother’s valuable words of encouragement – commits himself to practice and ultimately achieves his circus goal.
“Don’t ever give up. Try your hardest and always believe in yourself, because no dream is ever too big, and no one is ever too small,” Feleap tells young readers.
The idea for the story can be traced to a summer trip that Georgalas took to North Carolina.
“I enjoyed watching the frogs at the pond near where I was staying, and there was specifically one frog that would let me hold him. They were really interesting creatures,” she recalls.
Back at Fredonia in the fall term, Georgalas needed a class project for Advanced Animation and Illustration, taught by Associate Professor Jill Johnston. Brittany chose a frog to be the main character of a story that would be set around a pond, and then picked a circus as an event that children already knew. She likes to incorporate things that she enjoys into her projects, and balloon art is one of her new passions. All characters in the book are fashioned out of balloons twisted into different shapes.
Digital photographs of each character were taken and manipulated in Photoshop according to the activity to be portrayed. All photographs had to be taken in one day, due to the short “lifespan” of a balloon animal.
Georgalas published the book independently through Createspace and has it listed for sale through Amazon.com. Through Kickstarter.com, Georgalas raised over $1,000 to help purchase over 200 copies that will be donated to local schools and libraries. She’s also working with Fredonia’s College of Education to see if arrangements can be made for her to visit some schools and read the book aloud to children. The book is also available at the University Commons bookstore, and copies can be borrowed at Reed Library.
“Over spring break I have my first scheduled reading at my old preschool, and a presentation about becoming a published author at my old high school,” Brittany added.
Georgalas, the daughter of Christopher and Johanne Georgalas and a graduate of Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, N.Y., dedicated the book to everyone who has encouraged her to use her creativity to help inspire others.
“For now I really want to just spread the word about this book and try to make an impact on as many children as possible,” Georgalas said. “I have been asked a lot about a sequel. My little cousin, Daniel, really wants the next book to be titled, ‘Feleap the Frog and The Great Big Hockey Showdown.’
“Who knows? Maybe Pollywog Pond will just happen to freeze over next winter!”
