Pestering Annie
Sometimes, there’s nothing more fun that pestering our siblings. When Bert finds himself absolutely bored one Sunday afternoon, he comes up with the genius idea of pestering his little sister Annie. She puts up a good fight though, much to his surprise! And so begins the tale of ‘Pestering Annie’, a children’s book written by Marianne Johnpillai and illustrated by Irushi Tennekoon.
Marianne and Irushi have a fair few years between them — but that hasn’t stopped them from being as thick as thieves. “I am very blessed to have Irushi as a friend,” says Marianne
The book is a beautifully illustrated story about the bond between two siblings — Bert and Annie are just like us, right down to the bickering! Marianne says that telling stories like this comes naturally to her, having done it loads of times with her own kids Marissa and Dominic. Even though they’re much older now Marianne is still the storyteller in the family.
“I like writing whatever comes to my mind at the time; just for my own reading pleasure or maybe to share with others,” she says.
When she wrote ‘Pestering Annie’, Marianne had no plans to publish, but thanks to a lot of encouragement from her friends and family she decided to publish the book for young readers like you.
All good stories must have some amazing illustrations to go along with it, of course. Irushi didn’t have to be asked twice! The former
Ladies College student is just about to graduate from university and says drawing is more than a hobby for her. “I love drawing,” she smiles. “It’s probably my favourite thing in the world. I’ve never really learned art or did anything serious that’s art related till last year when I made the Facebook page
(Irus Dedoodles) where I share my work. Since then I’ve had my first exhibition and got lots of requests for doodles from friends as well as people I’ve never met before. They’re called doodles because that’s how it all started out.
Irushi loved Marianne’s book as soon as she read it, she says. “The expressions were so vivid that I imagined all the characters in my head almost at once! I had never taken on such a big project and wasn’t really sure where to start, it was a little overwhelming at first. This is my first work to be published. I’ve learned a lot along the way, picked up bits of art tips and publishing tips from the internet and various books and overall it has been an amazing journey — I’ve enjoyed every minute of our partnership.”
The book is priced at Rs. 400 and available at the Vijitha Yapa Bookshop and MILK at Barnes Place. Every book helps, because all the proceeds will go towards other kids who need a little extra help to get them through.
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