Adversity, with the right mind-set, could become an adventure. This is just one of the lessons in the new children’s book Camping Kids in the Mysterious Beyond. Written by Santa Barbara–based author Avalon Jenkins and illustrated by her wife, Genevieve Mahoney, the lovingly hand-drawn story is the first in a series based on Jenkins’s true-life experiences of her days raising her family in a motor home on a homeless encampment.
Jenkins — a former Olympic athlete and record-holding cyclist — wanted to inspire children going through what could be difficult times. “I understand that homelessness is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for families. I wanted to encourage children who are challenged in their living situation, where they might feel isolated and have low self-esteem, to feel a connection and confidence in how they were brought up,” Jenkins said. “These are all the true stories that the children and I were able to create adventures out of what could have been adversity, and my kids never knew they were poor.”
In the Mysterious Beyond, the camping kids head out into the woods just beyond the border of the campground. The story comes directly from the days when Jenkins would caution her own children from going too far past the edge of the campground. “When we were feeling really adventurous, we would go into the mysterious beyond where their imaginations could run wild, and they could confront challenges, conquer their fears, and come out feeling really confident,” Jenkins said. “I’d throw open the door of the motorhome like the royal queen, and tell them, ‘Go out and spread joy and happiness.’”