Great-grandmother Joan Porter has become a fi rst-time children's author at the age of 85. Ms Porter originally trained as a children's nurse and invented bedtime stories for patients and her own children.
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Later, when Joan became a playgroup supervisor, she put her rhymes and verses onto paper, but never imagined they would be published.
The countryside characters of Joan's creation were inspired by her own childhood in the small village of Kilberry on the west coast of Mid-Argyll.
Joan's youngest daughter recently approached a small publisher on Islay, Ailsapress, and with illustrator Jessica Excell, they have brought Joan's characters to life.
• Little Terry Tiddlemouse and His Countryside Friends and Little Terry Tiddlemouse: Time for Tea and Dressing Up are on sale now, RRP £6.99 from www.mybooksource.com