‘Whispers on Winnipesaukee’ children’s book started as a birthday gift

LACONIA — There are few people in the world that Martha Kruse knows better than her granddaughter, Haley Mae. For the girl’s sixth birthday, Kruse decided she would write a story with her granddaughter as the main character. That gift turned into the first of at least three hardcover books that Kruse and her friend Phyllis Stibler have created and published, and which have proven to be far more popular than either of them had expected they would be.

“Whispers on Winnipesaukee” was released last fall, and sold out its first printing of 250 copies very quickly. A second printing also sold out, and the book is now in its third print run.

Meanwhile, Kruse has written, and Stibler is illustrating, a second book, which will feature Haley Mae exploring the Seacoast. A third book, set in the Rocky Mountains, is planned.

Kruse and Stibler have been friends for decades, but had never collaborated until last summer.

“This book came about because I’ve always journaled what happened when I babysat (Haley),” Kruse said. She figured that Haley’s parents would want to know how their daughter spent her time away from them. Over the years, Kruse’s journals add up to a record of her granddaughter’s development into the charming, inquisitive six year-old she is today.

“I know her well, because I have this historical evolution,” said Kruse.

Kruse, a retired special educator who lives in Laconia, had written stories before, including a short one she wrote for Haley Mae’s third birthday. Those stories were usually short, filling only a couple of pages, with a few photographs inserted among the paragraphs. But they made an impression, apparently, because Haley asked her “Mimi” to write her a new story for her sixth birthday.

The story, Kruse quickly decided, would be about a day that Haley spends with her grandparents exploring Lake Winnipesaukee. The curious girl’s questions drive a dialogue in which Haley learns from her “Mimi” and “Grandpa John” about the geography, history and ecology of the lake.

How, though, would Kruse ever illustrate such a story? She vented about that very problem while visiting with Stibler one day last summer. Stibler, a commercial interior designer and watercolor painter, had the answer.

“I offered, if you write a story, I’ll do five paintings,” Stibler recounted. Kruse accepted the offer and began to write what was supposed to be a five-page book. Well, once she got started, she blew past five pages without slowing down. “Whispers on Winnipesaukee” is a 44-page book including 40 of Stibler’s paintings. The two raced to get the book ready to send to the Illinois-based Kingery Press by September 1, and it was released on Oct. 15 of last year. That was just in time for Kruse to deliver a copy to the book’s main character, who declared, “I’m famous in New Hampshire!”

Indeed, she is – at least in the Lakes Region. Kruse and Stibler put the book for sale in shops around the lake and the first printing sold out in six weeks. A second printing was gone in two months, and they’re not sure how long the third printing will last, considering this is the first summer sales season for “Whispers on Winnipesaukee.”

Kruse said the book is ideal for children age 7 and older to read with an adult, or a fourth-grader to read by herself. She said she was careful to include language which would present some new words to children, but which could be understood in context or with a little help from an adult.

“It’s a fine balance in stretching children’s vocabulary. Children will be prompted to ask a lot of questions,” Kruse said. “The adult reading the book can bring the child somewhere they couldn’t get to on their own.”

“Whispers on Winnipesaukee” can be found in Laconia at the Belknap Mill, Kellerhaus, Mount Washington Cruises Gift Shop and Sunflower Natural Foods. It can also be found at the Gilford Country Store, Innisfree Book Store in Meredith, The Loon Center in Moultonborough, Bayswater Books in Center Harbor, The Country Bookseller in Wolfeboro and at the Squam Lake Science Center in Holderness.