A Benton Harbor-based author has published a children’s book she hopes southwest Michigan parents will give to their kids for Christmas. Denise McGowan Tracy is originally from Chicago and spent her summers as a child in Watervliet. She now lives in Fairplain. She tells WSJM News she’s published Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish.
“It takes place at the North Pole, and it tells the story of Eleanor, who’s a ragdoll who has been at the North Pole a very long time, and she can’t quite understand why she is the only toy there who isn’t wished for every holiday season,” McGowan Tracy said.
Eleanor decides to write a letter to Santa asking for a child to wish for her. McGowan Tracy tells us the story has a happy ending. The book was adapted for a stage musical that was performed in 2019 in Chicago and then put on hold due to COVID.
“Our hope is to find some great supporters and sponsors and bring it back to the stage here in southwest Michigan and also possibly back in Chicago, and then who knows? Pixar, if you’re listening, we think it would be a great holiday film.”
McGowan Tracy signed copies of the book this week at The Christmas Tree on Benton Harbor. You can also get it on Amazon. You can learn more about Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish right here.
