HIBERNATION in our animal world is the theme of an illustrated book by a primary teacher from Innishannon, writes Chris Benn.

Jess Lynch’s picture book, A Snowy Sleep: A Tale of Hibernation, will be launched in Bandon Books in the Riverview Shopping Centre on October 10 at 3pm, and it’s the mum-of-three’s first venture into the world of children’s book publishing.

Jess said that she wanted to write a story about animals native to or living in Ireland “We all grow up learning that bears hibernate, but not many of us know that snails hibernate and other animals at our doorstep,” she told the Southern Star.

“There’s something magical about nature for children and adults, it fills us with wonder.”

The book, illustrated by Monika Pollak, tells the story of a dormouse, a red squirrel, a hedgehog, a long-eared bat and a brown-lipped snail as they seek shelter from the cold.

“As a mum of three young boys, sleep is a foreign concept at times so the idea of hibernating for an entire winter is a magical one to me,” joked Jess.

“Monika’s illustrations are stunning and surpassed all my expectations of what the book would look like.”

Award-winning author and Laureate na nÓg, Patricia Forde praised A Snowy Sleep, describing it as “a magical tale of nature and of home”.