Bayberry & Beau

Bayberry & Beau is an original tale inspired by a real horse and cat who became mysteriously attached to one another.

Beau is very unhappy in his new life as a barn cat. He longs to be Miki’s pet again, playing with him all day and sleeping on the bottom of his bed every night.

Sadly, when Miki became allergic to him, Beau was sent to live on Cloudland Farm with Miki’s Uncle Jake and Aunt Ruby.

Soon, Beau is in big trouble with bossy Aunt Ruby. Born to be a pet, not a hunter, he sleeps and dreams in the barn’s loft instead of catching mice.

Beau feels very sorry for himself until the day Bayberry comes to live on Cloudland Farm. The old bay quarterhorse doesn’t want to be there either. Her mournful whinnying when her owners leave her alone in her stall awakens Beau.

Peering down on the drooping horse, Beau remembers the way he felt the day Miki and his mom left him alone in the stable.

Beau runs from the loft, hops on Bayberry’s stall door, and introduces himself.

This is their story.

Nita talking with first grade students at the Rays School in Hanover, NH.

About the Author and Illustrator

Nita Choukas's childhood years in rural Maine during the great depression kindled her lifelong interest in dramatic literature. As a mother of three, grandmother of ten, she honed her storytelling over the years, and has studied literature all her life. An actress and director of school and community theater, she has written book for two children’s musicals, Lolly On His Own and An Elemental Tale. This is her first children’ 's book.

Gillian Tyler began her distinguished career in the visual arts at Smith College. She was a Max Beckman Scholar at the Museum School at the Brooklyn Museum, a Fullbright Fellow in graphics at Kunst Academie in Hamburg, Germany, and an exhibiting nominee at the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Her studies in oil and watercolors in recent years have led to exhibits in galleries all over New England and beyond.