Written and illustrated by Sue Lienau of Ossian, Ruford’s second visit, to the Northwoods, is a story about taking on adventure, making memories and finding some special new friends along the way. Love finds a way!
After a longer-than-planned release, Sue Lienau of Ossian has completed her second in the Ruford series of children’s books, “Ruford Visits the Northwoods.” Written and illustrated by Lienau, the book follows the fledgling eagle hatched in Decorah, first featured in the 2018 release, “Ruford Visits the Farm,” in a brand-new set of adventures, lovingly illustrated in colored pencil with a high level of detail in fur and feathers and a tender, engaging story.
In this newest book, Ruford is five years old and has taken off on a grand adventure north, traveling hundreds of miles from his home in Decorah to Duluth, Minn. He’s excited to take in the sights, including Lake Superior and the Northwoods. But Ruford has a problem—his wing is sore from his long journey, and it hurts to fly. Luckily, he meets plenty of new friends in the Northwoods who help him get better, including someone quite lovely.
“I write about places and people I know and love,” said Lienau. “I chose to set Ruford’s second adventure in and around Duluth because it is such a jaw-droppingly beautiful area. I also based several of the animal characters in this book on some of my dearest friends. In fact, you can read all about who’s who in the character list at the end of the book!”
Lienau noted that after the first book, she heard from a father who had made Ruford’s journey with his son, Elias, after reading the book and stopped at all the places described. She reported she selected the towns for the second book knowing it would make another great father-son journey for them, and many others. “Knowing they were going to travel Ruford’s journey again I picked those towns because I knew they were kid-friendly, and they would have a good time visiting them all.”
“It was always the plan for Ruford when I released the first book – if it was successful – that Ruford could visit many places. This will be the second of three in the Ruford series,” Lienau shared. “The third book, I’m already planning to start on this winter, and it will be the final Ruford book. I’m excited and hoping to have the final Ruford book ready for release in 2025.”
Lienau intimated the final book will see Ruford back in the Winneshiek County area on his next set of adventures, and he won’t be alone. The third book will feature Ossian and all its landmarks, including Bambino’s.
Each page’s illustrations averaged between nine and ten hours of work, and thankfully, a vacation to visit her son in Las Vegas gave her the time to focus and get Ruford’s story back on track for release this year.
Aptly, the characters in the latest release are more engaging and central to the story than in the first book. For instance, Ruford’s biggest help in mending his sore wing is Buddy the duck, a character modeled after Ossian’s late Veterinarian, Dr. Bud Vagts, who carved ducks as a hobby and was an integral part of the community.
“Even the grumpy gopher, he knows he’s in the book, but as I say, he has a soft heart,” Lienau said with a smile. “I wish I could do this all day – write and draw,” said the busy owner of Bambino’s in Ossian. “But that will be something for my retirement.” She did explain that the reason for the long break between Ruford books was the explosion of popularity of Bambino’s for her and her husband Ronald after winning Iowa’s Best Burger title. “I just didn’t have any time to pick up a pencil or draw for about a year and a half.”
Lienau hints at Ruford’s love interest in the new book and called on her second grandson to name Ruford’s future love, since her first grandson named Ruford himself. For more information, or for a copy of the local author’s latest release, visit Bambino’s in Ossian or follow “Ruford Series” on Facebook for details of upcoming book signings and release events all along Ruford’s path to Duluth. A release in Decorah is planned Oct. 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Market 52.
As for Lienau’s ideas on life after Ruford, “Oh, this is not the end of my book writing, I have another one I’m anxious to start on when I’m done with the Ruford series.”
Submit A Comment
Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.
Kate Klimesh, you did a fantastic job of writing this article about Ruford and myself as an author/illustrator. Thank you to the Driftless Journal for featuring great stories! We appreciate you all.