Trevor’s books a big hit with little readers
For Trevor Burke, what started as a thoughtful christening present has blossomed into a book business that is going from strength to strength.
Inspired by the arrival of his newborn niece, Trevor, a Waterford native living in Cork for two decades, embarked on a creative journey to craft a captivating picture book. The heartfelt response from his family upon seeing his creation prompted Trevor to pursue his newfound passion, leading to the birth of 'Happy Attic Stories'. However, Trevor didn't feel a natural affinity for books during his younger years. “I always had difficulty reading and writing as a child and I didn’t read properly until I was 12,” he told the Cork Independent.
“What was assumed to be low IQ turned out to be severe dyslexia, which was not diagnosed until college,” he explained.
“When I was young, I couldn’t keep up in class so, when all the other kids were reading, I was looking at the pictures and dreaming up my own stories.”
“I wrote 'Happy Attic Stories' for kids who may not be the biggest readers but love books. Now they can enjoy the bright pictures and make up their own adventures because there is more to stories than just words. If I could tell the young me anything it would be not to worry about keeping up with others, just enjoy going at my own pace because it’s not a race,” he added.
The stories feature two fun-loving characters – Purple and Reggie – who always find themselves flung unexpectedly into exciting adventures and are aimed at children aged 6 and under. Trevor, who works in Scoil Mhuire in Ballincollig says that the books are a bit hit with pupils in the school. “I dedicated one of my books to them, I get a lot of inspiration from those kids,” he said.
He also gets great feedback from grown-ups on Purple and Reggie. “Parents keep telling me that their kids rent them from the library, and they want them for themselves so they come to me to buy them.”
Trevor says that his ultimate aim is to get a publisher on board but for the moment are available from Trevor’s own website happyatticstories.com and from the Ballincollig post office.