Father and Daughter Team
Publish Children’s Poetry Book


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North Carolina sculptor and writer Forrest Greenslade and his artist daughter in Pennsylvania, Kathryn Armstrong, have just
published a book of children’s poetry. Haicooo: Little Poems for Children is a collection of whimsical haiku paired with
colorful graphics of friendly animals.  

The father/daughter team has worked together for years. When Armstrong was just old enough to hold scissors, she would
cut out shapes from construction paper for her father. He used them to make diagrams for his research presentations while
a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry. They have since collaborated on many health and management books and articles. 
The idea for Haicooo came from drawings Armstrong was creating for a hospital web site design. “We wanted to give the
pediatric department’s pages a child-friendly look with bright-colored illustrations,” she says. “I emailed the first drawing to
my dad,” she explains. “He had learned about haiku poetry in his writers group in Fearrington Village, and sent back a silly poem
about it.” As Armstrong completed more drawings, she sent them to her father, who continued to be inspired. Father and
daughter agreed that this would be a great way to introduce children to the joy of art and poetry. Incidentally, Armstrong
had a nearly one-year old daughter (Nicole Alexandra) at the time.

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry, dating from the 19th century. A traditional haiku consists three lines of approximately
5, 7, and 5 phonetic units, which generally correspond to the syllables of English. “In our Haicooo, we don't even attempt to
follow the elaborate rules of Haiku,” notes Greenslade. We just use the basic form to tell little stories to little folk.”
All profits from sale of the book will go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital where the daughter works
and grand daughter Nicole was born. “The NICU team was in my room within 20 seconds,” Armstrong says. “Thankfully,
Nicole started breathing on her own in that time. But I will never forget the swift actions of the NICU professionals who examined
her and made sure she was OK.”
Now almost two years later, Armstrong reads Haicooo to her daughter. Nicole giggles and points to the animals. “Moo. Cow,”
she says. Armstrong smiles. “Because of the NICU’s work, other moms will be able to read to their children, too.”

"We hope that parents, grand parents and friends will show these pictures and read these poems to small children, and use them to initiate a life-long engagement for kids with art and poetry,” Greenslade explains. “Hopefully, older children will read them themselves, and even write poems of their own."

Kathryn Armstrong is a classically-trained graphic designer with a BFA from Parsons School of Design in NYC. She has worked for years in the publishing and communications field, primarily in healthcare. Kathryn is also an animal lover and serves on the board of directors of a local animal rescue group, as well as fawning over several of her own pets. Dr. Forrest Greenslade spent his working life as a scientist, author and executive. In his dotage, he sculpts whimsical creatures. He calls them Forrest Dwellers, and insists that they will bring good luck to your home and garden.  He is a member of ChathamArts and serves on the board of the Chatham Artists Guild.

For more information visit www.haicooo.com or call Forrest Greenslade at 919-545-9743. --