Children’s book fills gap, sharing reality of ranch life in Saskatchewan

The family on the Circle Star Ranch returns in Jackie Cameron’s second novel for early readers, Lost Treasure on the Circle Star Ranch.

The author was inspired to continue the story of Ben, Sarah, and their parents after her first instalment, Adventures on the Circle Star Ranch, received good reviews from children and was shortlisted for a Saskatchewan book award and the Next Generation Indie Book Award. “Since I had an idea for another story, I wrote Lost Treasure on the Circle Star Ranch,” she explains.

Cameron, who now lives in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, grew up on her family farm where they raised cattle, and while they didn’t consider themselves ranchers, there were some shared experiences between her family and the family on the Circle Star Ranch, such as the grass fire.

“When a fire like this happens, people see the smoke and come help – which we did. In this book, I have some Hutterite men come to help.”

She had good reasons to include Hutterite characters. “The Hutterite children in more than 30 schools in the southwest loved my first book,” Cameron explains, “and this was a way of saying thank you to them. It also gave me a chance to tell a bit about the Hutterite lifestyle.”

Cameron’s career as a teacher-librarian in two school divisions led her to contribute to the body of children’s books in Canada. “There were not many books about farm or ranch life in Saskatchewan, so I thought I would try to fill this gap,” she says.

The story of the ranch family and their adventures is enhanced by the charming illustrations of Wendi Nordell. “They add so much to the stories, and she did excellent work on portraying people, animals, and scenery as I imagined it,” Cameron says.

Nordell has quite a few illustration credits to her name in a wide variety of genres and target age groups, including Cameron’s first novel. She particularly enjoys working on Cameron’s books. “When I was a kid,” she says, “I used to daydream about being on a ranch and riding horses in the open prairies, so it was a lot of fun to picture it and bring those scenes to life.”

While she doesn’t have direct ranch experience, Nordell did grow up in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and was exposed to farm animals as a child.

“I’ve drawn inspiration from my life as well, from growing up and living in these places. I never lived on a ranch but I had horses and a pet cow on a hobby farm that we lived on for about a decade. I knew lots of people who had ranches, or raised cattle.” She has always loved to draw horses, but cows were a new drawing challenge for her.

Lost Treasure on the Circle Star Ranch is a story that rings true to the Saskatchewan rural experience. “When driving through southern Saskatchewan, among the hills and creeks, it is easy to imagine someone hiding out in one of the abandoned houses near a creek,” Cameron explains.

“This is a story that might have been.”