Major (M.A. ’66) says she waited until 85 because she was busy pursuing other things like her education, career, and raising a family.
“If you like this one, stick around,” Major jokes. “In another 85 years I might put out a sequel.”
For Major, books have always been important. She received an undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University in English, and taught high school English briefly. In 1965, she came to WMU to earn her Master’s in Library Science and then went on to for Portage Public Schools from 1966 to 1994 as a library media specialist.
“Writing a book of my own wasn’t something I even considered for a long time,” Major said. “When I was in college, I didn’t ever think of writing anything except term papers. I loved reading to children and picking out books for the school.”
Major says she was always fascinated by limericks, especially those by Edward Lear, but it wasn’t until she was 62 taking a course at the Portage Senior Center when she wrote her first limerick.
“It was about a cat,” Major recalled. “The group liked it and laughed. But it wasn’t until I was 73 that I wrote the first cat limerick that appears in my book. I named the cat Kyle, after my son. That was so much fun that I decided to write a limerick a day from A and go to Z. They all ended up being about cats. I’ve had cats, on-and-off, for most of my life, and I’m just fascinated by them, by the variety of their characters, by their individualities, so I guess it makes sense that that’s what the focus of the limericks was.”
Aside from covering each letter of the alphabet, Major was also able to leave a few personal touches on her first book. She managed to work in the names of many family members, and her son, Kyle, drew all of the illustrations.
“I never thought of putting the whole together in a book until my son and daughter urged me to,” Major said.
The book features 26 limericks about cats. Created for people of all ages to enjoy, the limericks and their accompanying color illustrations are quirky and lighthearted. The book shows cats in a variety of situations, from the quintessentially feline (catching rats and mice) to the anthropomorphic (riding an exercise bicycle).
“I think it’s a lot of fun, and so far we’ve had some really good responses to it from readers,” Major said. “I’m especially proud of this book because all profit that my son and I make from it will be donated annually to nonprofit organizations helping cats and other companion animals.”
The book can be ordered at www.lulu.com and at other online sites, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It can also be ordered for $18 (includes shipping and handling) through kyleheger@yahoo.com.
Information and book cover courtesy Janice Major and Kyle Heger.