Author says book is a love letter to her children, area

How many ways are there to say “I love you?”

For local author Tatum Evans, the possibilities are never-ending.

Evans grew up Brantwood, just outside of Rib Lake. It’s where she works as a marketing and media specialist at Tom and Ma’s Maple Syrup, her family’s syrup operation. It’s also where she raises her children, Frank and Sophie, together with her husband, Tom.

There isn’t much in Brantwood aside from the Evans family and Tom and Ma’s, which is just the way they like it. When the little family isn’t busy tapping trees and cooking sap they’re on the road, traveling from state-to-state and exploring new terrain. They like to find interesting places to camp rather than crashing at cushy hotels.

“We are not going for the tourist stuff,” Evans said, stating that she and her husband prefer to immerse their kids in local exploits over frequented hotspots. “Our kids have been going on adventures with us since they were little.”

A much-loved part of their family excursions is bringing home a picture book from each destination, something for Frank and Sophie to read with their parents and reminisce together about the places they’ve traveled. But that wasn’t always an easy task. Evans noticed that most of the books her children found were ABC books that mostly focused on teaching the alphabet, and while those books serve a purpose, her kids were looking for a little bit more. Evans decided to fill that gap herself.

“I’ve always loved writing, so maybe I just need to write what I’m looking for,” she said.

And with her target-audience in mind, Evans knew exactly where she would start: with love. Part of her nighttime routine with her children is to remind them how much they mean to her, often incorporating fun tidbits from their adventures into their nightly ritual. After their yearly trip to the beach, Evans tells her kids, “I love you deeper than the ocean.”

She stated, “One night I said, ‘I love you fiercer than a badger,’ they just kept rolling out.” And from their love of travel, and each other, States of Love: Wisconsin began taking shape in her mind.

Evans hit the ground running, starting at the Rib Lake Public Library. She checked out every picture book about Wisconsin that she could get her hands on, but there was still something missing. She began from scratch, drawing from her love of the outdoors and the natural world around her.

“Being outside is probably one of my biggest inspirations,” Evans said. She bought a folding keyboard so she could write whenever, and wherever, creativity struck, like in her tree stand. “In Wisconsin there’s so much wildness, that’s played a role for me ever since I was a kid.”

But States of Love: Wisconsin goes beyond the natural landscape. It’s informative, diving into Wisconsin’s history in a way that’s easy for children to understand. Evans wanted to feature the impact of the Native Americans who first made Wisconsin their home, and the role that logging played in the state’s development. She included a fun fact on each page for little readers eager to soak up new information. It even touches on some of the state’s more homey values, like Wisconsin’s love for a good Kringle, and the wonder and awe felt each time a bald eagle is spotted coasting on the wind.

“It’s a tribute to all the different things that make Wisconsin unique from other states,” Evans said.

The pieces continued to fall together for Evans during the publishing process when out of 40 different companies from around the world she was picked up by Orange Hat Publishing, a Wisconsin firm. “I cried immediately,” she said. A smaller company meant that Evans was able to make many of the decisions herself, even when it came down to the artwork. Orange Hat handed Evans a list of illustrators and put her to work.

Illustrator Monique Machut was Evans’ first pick. Machut is known for her vibrant and engaging artwork, and Evans knew Machut would bring her story to life. Evans selected her before she ever knew that Machut, like herself and Orange Hat, was also a Wisconsinite.

“The stars aligned,” Evans said. “She really soaked it in, she got what I was going for.” It was important for Evans to incorporate loving relationships into her book, reaffirming each child of their importance to their teachers, grandparents, parents and other loved ones. She said that Machut grasped it immediately.

When Evans saw some of Machut’s first sketches, she brought them to her most cherished critics. “It’s going to be a real book?” her children asked her. “They’re so used to me, they could hear me in it,” Evans said of reading the samples to Frank and Sophie for the first time.

States of Love: Wisconsin becomes available at the end of August though it can be preordered at orangehatpublishing. com. Evans hopes that children will read the book and feel loved, inspiring a deeper connection between kids and their adults as they learn new things about the place they rest their heads each night.

In the meantime you’ll catch Evans and her family out at Tom and Ma’s, or chuckling on the side of the road after their alternator goes out on a road trip, or maybe exploring the other hidden treasures of the state like the Apostle Islands or the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. And on Saturday, August 23, at 10 a.m., their adventure will take place where it started, at the Rib Lake Public Library where they’ll celebrate the launch of Evans’ book. All are invited to come out and meet Evans and to enjoy snacks, story time and some fun family activities.

Bring home States of Love: Wisconsin and crack it open. Who knows what part of the state you’ll end up in?