Newberg Duo Launches Kickstarter for The Yellow Cottage: A Critter’s Tale

NEWBERG, Ore. — Inspired by the charm of Winnie the Pooh, The Wind in the Willows, and Peter Rabbit, two Newberg artists are bringing a new set of woodland tales to life — and turning to Kickstarter to get it printed.

“The book is done — it’s just in the last process,” said author Christine Joy Swanson. “We’re now just going back and forth with the graphic designer and the printer … Sarah [Joy Silva] is fine-tuning illustrations, but the editor is done with it. It’s really exciting.”

The Yellow Cottage: A Critter’s Tale, written by Swanson and illustrated by Silva, follows the adventures of small woodland animals living in and around a cozy country cottage. Across 24 chapters and more than 200 pages, the critters face changes to their home, encounter perils, and learn lessons in bravery, kindness, and community.

“We sort of wanted to do both a picture book and a novel,” Swanson said. “That’s part of why the book is as long as it is — there are pages and pages of text, but also images on every other page, which is super fun.”

The idea for the book began in an actual yellow cottage where Swanson and Silva once lived. The house had a mouse problem when they moved in, and when the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to quarantine, the longtime friends found themselves “trapped amongst the mice.”

That sparked their imaginations: What if the mice weren’t invading their space, but they were invading the mice’s? What if the animals had homes, hopes, and struggles of their own? The idea grew into a fully realized world of animal neighbors — each with personalities, challenges, and stories to tell.

“The house was vacant for a little while before we moved in,” Swanson said. “So I kept telling Sarah that our mouse problem was probably their human problem. And the story started unfolding from there.”

Swanson, a visual artist who frequently exhibits work and teaches painting at the Chehalem Cultural Center, said she had been practicing “morning pages,” a technique from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron that encourages writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness each morning to spark creativity. The practice, she said, helped her develop the story.

In an era dominated by digital and AI-generated art, Swanson and Silva chose a traditional approach, crafting the story and illustrations by hand.

“We want this to feel human and genuine,” Swanson said. “There are absolutely ways we could have done this faster with AI, but that would take the individuality out. We need the humanity in this story.”

That extended to the illustrations. Silva, a watercolorist who now lives in the Portland metro area, illustrated each page by hand — both digitally and physically — a far more time-intensive process but one Swanson said gave the book a unique, human touch.

The finished book will be casebound in classic linen hardcover and printed locally by Brown Printing in Portland.

“We’re doing everything local,” Swanson said. “Our editor is in Beaverton, our graphic designer is in Dundee, we’re in Newberg, and our printer is in Portland. We could have outsourced this overseas and it would have been a lot cheaper, but we wanted to keep it local.”

The Yellow Cottage: A Critter’s Tale is available for preorder, and the Kickstarter will launch Tuesday, Aug. 12. Swanson and Silva hope to raise $5,000 to cover printing costs, with a target release around the holidays — though Swanson said the ambitious goal may push the release into the new year. They plan to print 4,000 copies. Preorders cost $38; retail will be $43.99.

“We’re overjoyed to be sharing this book with you soon,” wrote Swanson and Silva on the website. “Your support, kindness, and encouragement have made all the difference—thank you for being part of this adventure with us!”

Correction August 12 at 8:52 p.m.: the original article stated Swanson and Silva were attempting to raise $50,000 via a Kickstarter campaign. They’re attempting to raise $5,000. Newsberg regrets the error.