Sharing the beauty of national parks through the eyes of a tumbleweed

Ed Bray ’89 and his wife Christy, a fifth grade teacher, had always been interested in writing children’s books that bring the beauty and wonder of U.S. national parks to students across the country. It was on a trip to Death Valley National Park years ago when they noticed a tumbleweed stuck in the middle of a highway and were inspired to create the title character for a book series – Tripp the Tumbleweed.

Since then, they’ve written and published eight books that follow Tripp’s adventures to Yellowstone, Death Valley, Pinnacles, Yosemite, Zion and Cuyahoga Valley national parks, as well as Cape Cod National Seashore. They’ve also written an origin story for Tripp and plan to visit Channel Islands and Sequoia national parks next.

For Ed and Christy, collaborating with school districts and experiencing the students’ reactions have been the most fulfilling part about writing the books. Ed shared, “For each book, we share questions about the plot with students in classrooms or after-school programs local to the national park we are writing about. We incorporate their answers into the book which makes them co-authors. Then, we donate 20% of the profits from each book back to the school district that supported Tripp’s adventures. We’ve been so appreciative of everyone’s interest and engagement!”

As an added bonus, they collaborated with two Kennedy alumni to arrange classroom visits and student activities in New York and Massachusetts. “Christy and I are truly enjoying traveling the country in our Trippmobile campervan, meeting amazing people, seeing the most beautiful sights and witnessing the joy
in students’ faces when we recognize them as coauthors and read their book to them.”