Vaughan writer launches publishing company and first children's book
Jessica Boyd started Buttertart Books and her inaugural publication is a 26-page picture book called Bear Hockey

Yorkregion.com
March 15, 2017
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Jessica Boyd grew up dreaming of being a writer.

Though she spent eight years in a job that combined her talents for weaving together words with her training as an educator, Boyd just recently plunged fully into the writing world, starting a publishing company and launching her first book.

Bear Hockey is a 26-page, picture book for children.

“It’s a great story,” the 36-year-old mother of two said. “It’s all about bears playing the final hockey game before hibernation. It’s a very inclusive story, any bear can play.”

Boyd grew up in Toronto, but moved to Vaughan with her parents while she was at university.

“(Writing has) always been my passion, but I did other things because everybody says you can’t be a writer; you have to have a backup plan,” she said.

Boyd’s back up plan? Teacher’s college.

But after graduating she was hesitant about entering the profession, turning down three job offers.

“My parents were freaking out, going: ‘You’re going to be unemployed forever.’”

Boyd worked as a tutor and watched the job boards hoping something would pique her interest.

One day, she spotted a posting for a job at Ganz.

The toy company was seeking a writer with an educational background for its Webkinz World website; a perfect fit Boyd thought.

She landed the job and enjoyed it, but eventually started thinking about launching her own company.

Working full time made that difficult.

Then she had children, was at home with them, and “thought let’s do it.”

Buttertart Books was born and Boyd needed a book to announce its arrival.

She chose Bear Hockey, which she’d written several years ago while part of a writers group.

“This is definitively this publishing company’s book because the goal of my company is to do books that are just a little more offbeat than what you’d see in traditional publishing; just a little more fun, a little more whacky. Bear Hockey fits that mould,” said Boyd, who moved back to Vaughan from Toronto about seven years ago. When it came time to select an illustrator, Boyd turned to Webkinz World colleague Maurizio Curto.

“Through the artwork, we wanted to give it a lot of bold colours, a lot of modern thick line strokes so the kids don’t feel like they’re reading something from 30 years ago,” Curto said. “It still has that children’s book, warm kind of feeling to it, but with that excitement of bears playing and a lot of action going on throughout every page.”

Brown bear dressed in hockey gear

Boyd echoes that.

“The entire thing is really fast-paced,” she said. “The illustrations make it come alive.”

Though it’s an upbeat book, ideal for bedtime reading, Boyd said it also carries an important message.

“It turns out the little bear is the one that actually wins the game,” she said. “We wanted to have that empowering message to kids that you can do it to, even though there are all these other more experienced, larger bears, you can be the one that wins it.”

To find out more, visit buttertartbooks.com.