Being in the bouncy castle industry most of us know how much all children love a bouncy castle! Well now we can introduce you to “Bessie The Bouncy Castle”. Michelle Traverse is Bessie’s creator and she’s hoping that her new children’s character will become the next big household name.
Being a single Mum, part-time legal secretary and helping her partner run Kids Rule (a bouncy castle and soft play hire company), Michelle had first-hand experience on how much kids adored bouncy castles and got very used to creating stories for the children if they were sad at the castles being deflated.
It was through this storytelling that Bessie was born! After a lot of hard work, perseverance and going down the self-publishing route, Michelle now has her first book, which she hopes will be the beginning of a series of adventures for Bessie. She has already written a second story which introduces one of Bessie’s friends, Beatrice and there are still quite a few more of Bessie’s friends waiting to be introduced! Michelle hopes Bessie will eventually become a brand……and maybe even adapted for TV, who knows?!
Let’s keep our fingers crossed as this could be a great asset to the industry! “Bessie Comes to the Rescue” is a short story aimed at children aged 2 to 5 years. Kids will love the bright and cute illustrations of the characters and the book is an easy to follow story around Bessie’s world of entertainment. This multicultural book is a family affair, with Michelle’s 3 year old daughter, Tianna, appearing as one of the main characters and the very “catchy” Bessie Theme Song (a printed version of the music and lyrics can be found towards the back of the book) written and composed by Michelle’s father who is a professional musician.
The book is currently selling at £3.50 per copy but Michelle is offering special deals for bulk buys from BIHA members. She, herself is trying to encourage her customers to hand the books out to children at parties in place of the usual party bags. Instead of giving the children toys which soon get broken or lost in the bottom of the toy box and unhealthy sweets, she thought the children would be extremely happy to receive a book about a bouncy castle instead.
Can you think of a better present after being at a bouncy castle party? Another idea is for companies to offer a free book as an incentive to bring in additional bookings for bouncy castles. Discounts are available at the following rate: 20-49 books (£2.50 each plus P&P) or 50+ books (£2.00 each plus P&P). To obtain your copy or copies please contact Michelle either by email: kidsrule2007@yahoo.co.uk or the Kids Rule website www.kids-rule.co.uk Alternatively, you can call Michelle direct on 07949 454048.