A minister, a journalist and an artist are some of the people who have come together to produce a charity children’s book in just three weeks.
Reverend Richard Littledale, pastor of Teddington Baptist Church, in Church Road, wrote the Littlest Star last month.
After seeing how successful the story was, he decided to launch it as a book to raise money for hospice charity Shooting Star Chase.
And, with the help of a host of different people from the community, he has managed to get the book into shops in time for Christmas.
Rev Littledale, who has also written other books, said it was “nothing short of a miracle”.
He said: “When I submit my text as an author it’s usually nigh on nine months before it comes out. This has been turned around in three weeks which is quite miraculous.”
Artist James Robinson created illustrations for the book, while graphic designer and Teddington resident Annette Peppis quickly produced a print-ready copy.
Hyperlocal blog TeddingtonTown helped to spread the word through its website and Guardian columnist Viv Groskop tweeted about it to her 4,000 followers.
Finally, media companies Haymarket and Lynhurst Press offered to cover the costs of printing, meaning the book will be in shops by the end of the week.
Rev Littledale said: “We’ve done this so very, very quickly because we wanted to get the book out in time for Christmas and raise some money for [Shooting Star Chase]... all kinds of people have given their time above and beyond what I could have hoped for.”
Shooting Star Chase provides support for the families of terminally ill children and has hospices in Hampton and Guildford.
When asked what the best Christmas present would be, half of the children currently living in the hospices said they wanted to be at home with their family. The charity needs to raise £500,000 to continue to make these wishes come true.
For more information about the Littlest Star, visit richardlittledale.wordpress.com
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