From a ladybug: change is OK

KENT — In Kent, Vincent LaFontan is perhaps best known as a former selectman and as the owner of Mountain View Farm, along with his wife, Maria. 

In addition to those accomplishments, LaFontan is also an accomplished storyteller. His book for children, “Farmhouse Ladybug,” has just been released.

LaFontan learned to tell stories while working in the after-school program at the New Milford Youth Agency (NMYA), where he was employed from 1994 to 2004. 

“While at the NMYA, I worked directly with kids. I developed a few different stories that I would tell them, each one having a moral or message, and ending with a hands-on project,” he explained. He wrote down his three favorite stories on paper, thinking that he might try to get them published someday.

The first book that grew out of those stories is “The Little Boy Who Ate Dirt Pudding and Roasted Pine Cones,” which was published in 2013.

“This second book, ‘Farmhouse Ladybug,’ was the culmination of a years-long process,” Lafontan said. Collaborating with illustrator E.D. Hose, who also worked on the first book, LaFontan’s vision for his second story came to life.

“This book addresses children’s fears, and combating those fears,” LaFontan said. “It also touches on the natural, biological process of hibernation. In the winter many animals, including ladybugs, search for places to hide. In this story, a little ladybug and her family find a cozy winter home in the Jones’ farmhouse.

“Through a series of events, a young ladybug gets separated from her family. She’s scared at first. But through her winter in the Jones’ home, she grows to love them after seeing what wonderful people they are.

“The little ladybug also helps to save a house plant while staying with the Jones family. The plant is suffering from aphids, and the ladybug eats the aphids. As you turn through the pages of the book, you see the house plant go from small and sickly at the beginning, to lush and healthy at the end,” LaFontan said.

“Farmhouse Ladybug” is available for purchase at House of Books.