A retired East Ferris, Ont., wedding photographer is going ‘nuts’ over her second children’s book, where she uses real-life chipmunks doing decidedly human activities. Linda Stoner combined her love of both nature and photography for her new book, “Chippy’s Adventures.” Stoner created sets in her backyard and waited for the critters to enter the scenes. Since retiring, she said she now focuses her lens on the small, wild, skittish rodents who call her yard home. “It’s a lot of fun,” she said. She starts by building miniature sets. Most of the props are made from old recyclables like egg cartons and pop cans, or tinfoil and paper. It took Stoner about 14 months to make seven sets for the book. She took them out to the backyard and placed them on a table. Then came the painstakingly slow process of convincing the chipmunks to scurry up onto her set with tasty sunflower seeds. “It takes me sometimes the whole day or days to get them to do what I want them to do,” Stoner said. A lot of patience is needed. She’ll wait and wait and wait for the stars of the show to make their grand appearance. When they’re in the right position, she snaps away. “I have to figure out how to get them where I want them in the set because I always have an idea of what I want him to do,” she said. Joking that she must have thousands of photos considered “bloopers,” the ones she likes have been used in Chippy’s Adventures, her second children’s book. Work began on the book in 2023. It follows Chippy the chipmunk, who learns how to do everyday tasks around his home. Sometimes he performs them in silly ways, but eventually he figures it out. “Taking this picture was funny because I wanted him with his paws on the cart, pushing it,” she said, pointing to a photo of Chippy with his paws on a shopping cart in a grocery store set. “But the cart has wheels on it. So, the cart is going off the set. He didn’t move his back feet. So, he’s stretched way out.” Stoner’s first book, “Chippy’s Family Helping Others,” was published in 2023 and it also followed Chippy and his family. It was a tremendous success, with readers in North Bay and Sudbury and as far as Toronto and Ottawa buying copies. She got the idea from a woman on the East Coast who did something similar with red squirrels. “I didn’t think I’d do the first book and then I certainly didn’t think I’d do a second book,” Stoner said. “The first book, I’m running out of copies of it. So, I’ve revamped it and I’ve revised it. I’ve included bloopers in that book, as well.” Her books are available in stores in and around North Bay and area, and also at Science North in Sudbury. Stoner will be set up at different markets and craft sales leading up to the holidays. She will sell hardcover copies for $25 on Nov. 7 at the Elks Lodge Christmas Craft Sale, on Nov. 14 at Coles Book Store in Northgate Shopping Centre; Nov. 21 at the West Ferris Legion Christmas Craft Sale; and, on Nov. 29 at the Callander Christmas Craft Sale at the Community Centre on Swale Street. “People, they say, ‘Well, that’s not a real chipmunk,’ and I say, ‘Oh, it’s very real. It’s very real,” Stoner smiled. More information on Stoner and her work can be found on her website.
