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WAVERLEY<\/strong>: Dave Carroll\u2019s first foray into writing children\u2019s books has received rave reviews from two of the most important people in his life\u2014even before it was publicly available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carroll, well-known for his hit United Breaks Guitars and being one half of Nova Scotia group Sons of Maxwell, said the recently released Tom the Tomato Plant children\u2019s book was inspired by his two sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis story was born during the kids bedtime ritual. I’d lie in bed with them and try to make up stories in real time,\u201d said Carroll in an interview from Waverley. \u201cMany times, the stories were a little disjointed and the boys would be brutally honest and might say “Dad that story sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis particular time though, all the elements seemed to come together, and they liked instantly with a “Dad, that’s a pretty good story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”31″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate group=”7″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n While this is his first children\u2019s book, Carroll has written before– United Breaks Guitars published by HayHouse was his first book he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said he\u2019s been making up stories for the two boys, aged nine and 12, since they were young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe timing was right with the pandemic and with the extra time I had I decided to take on the project,\u201d said Carroll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carroll said Tom the Tomato Plant is about a smaller than average tomato plant who get’s pushed to the back of the tomato plant table at the farmers market (The Vegetorium as shown in the illustrations.}<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll of the other bigger plants got picked first and Tom thought he’d never find a forever home like the others,\u201d said Carroll, \u201cuntil one day, when a family passes by, and the little girl sees Tom’s potential and persuades her family to bring him home with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the rest of the story follows Tom as he teaches and learns about compassion, gratitude, resilience, and seeing yourself in other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”34″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”127″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carroll said the story reminded him of song writing in that it’s not long, so you have to be efficient in getting from A to B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt’s an ambitious thing to try and write a story for kids that adults can find meaning in as well and so I enjoyed the challenge,\u201d he said. \u201cIt works having the illustrations to support the message is an excellent way to move the story forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI enjoyed working with Floyd. the illustrator, to capture the essence of each scene.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said it took a lot of focus to create the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt’s a project full of details that requires patience, investment of time and money and most people likely have no idea how much goes into the process beyond coming up with a bedtime story on the spot,\u201d said Carroll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate group=”6″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”123″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n