Andy Ant, a little ant with big ideas, and his human friend Joey will delight your children with their exciting adventures. The imaginative stories in these fun, colorful books will both entertain your children and help them learn valuable life lessons that every child should know. In this adventure, both Andy and Joey learn the importance of following directions and obeying instructions. is coming. Will Andy Ant go down the street drain and be lost forever because he and Joey did not obey?
Gerald (Jerry) O'Nan is an attorney living in Lakewood, Colorado, with his fetching bride of more than 50 years. He graduated from the University of Colorado (BA '71) and the University of Louisville School of Law (JD '74). Before retirement, he was the Assistant Regional Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior. During more than 38 years of service, he wrote numerous briefs, litigation reports, and opinions. Unrelated to his work with Interior, he started writing articles for magazines and newspapers. His first published article was for the
Denver Post,
Monument to a Heart's Desire.
In the early '80s, he started writing children's stories. The first
Andy Ant story he wrote was
The Swimming Hole Disaster, from events that he experienced on a hot summer day in his hometown of Grand Junction, Colorado.
His brother, Larry, had started telling bedtime stories to his kids using a character he created - Andy Ant. After Jerry had written his first story and was completing a second -
Runaway Ants - he wanted to make everything "legal" and sought to purchase the name "Andy Ant" from Larry. Larry did not want to sell the name but proposed that the two work together to get the
Andy Ant stories published. Larry would use his marketing skills and Jerry would write the stories.
The stories are all written in the first person by "Joey," Andy's human friend. In reality, "Joey" is Jerry and every story is based on things that happened to him growing up and the characters are all inspired by people Jerry knew.
In addition to the
Andy Ant stories, Jerry wrote eighteen children's stories for
Moody Monthly, a publication out of Chicago. Similar to the
Andy Ant series, the
Moody stories are all based on events from Jerry's childhood and the characters are all people who played an important role in his life.
Jerry is active in his church and loves telling stories, especially to kids. He has taught creative writing seminars for Denver Public Schools and the Jefferson County School District in Colorado.
Larry O'Nan is a 1966 graduate in Speech, Theatre, and English Education from the University of Colorado. As a young father, he created Andy and his ant family as a means of teaching life lessons to my two daughters. Many nights, he told them bedtime adventure stories about Andy Ant and his best human friend, Joey. Andy Ant and his family lived under the front porch of our home. Each story was fun but also told a moral life lesson. Each adventure took place during one day in the lives of Andy and Joey. Since 1972, Larry has specialized in helping nonprofit organizations in areas of fund development and nonprofit management, serving as a professional consultant and advisor to nonprofit leadership. His clients are worldwide. He is also the author of Giving Yourself Away, and currently serves on four nonprofit boards.
