Announcement: New children’s story about famous miniature pony Jack Brock to be published by Graffeg
GRAFFEG NEWS 15 February 2024
Inspired by the story of her famous miniature pony and dementia ambassador Jack Brock, debut author Ali Stearn has written a children’s book demonstrating the positive impact Jack has had on his travels.
Together, Ali and Jack go into care homes to support those living with dementia, and in addition the pair have raised over £25k for charity through sales of their Christmas cards and other fundraising efforts. Their charity endevours have resulted in national press coverage, including a Daily Mail feature, ITV news interview and now an appearance on ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh on 18 February. Jack also has a large following on social media, with over 23k followers.
Ali Stearn says, ‘I am really looking forward to working with Graffeg and sharing with you some of Jack Brock’s many adventures through illustrations and words. Many of the people we have met together will never forget how Jack made them feel.’
Matthew Howard, Publishing Director of Graffeg, adds,
‘Everything about Jack Brock oozes positivity from the joy he brings at public appearances to the story of his rescue from a life of neglect – not to mention the inspiration he has provided to author Ali Stearn, who has discovered a fantastic artistic talent through her depictions of what he gets up to – all of which means we are thrilled to be working with Ali and can’t wait to bring her work, and Jack's all too real adventures, to readers everywhere.’
Publishing director Matthew Howard and managing director Peter Gill acquired the worldwide rights from the author directly.
Jack Brock
Jack Brock is enjoying his daily walk when his owner suddenly takes him somewhere new: a care home. Here Jack meets so many new people, including Alma, Bob and Audrey, and, although a little shy at first, Jack manages to bring a smile to everyone’s faces through his silly antics. Perhaps most significantly of all, he manages to get a response from a lady dementia sufferer who otherwise is completely unresponsive to the world around her.
Jack Brock is publishing September 2024.
Notes to Editors:
Please contact media@graffeg.com to request interviews or images for editorial use or to request more information on this title. Ali Stearn is the owner of Jack Brock. In her spare time she takes Jack to care homes voluntarily and, together, they support those living with dementia, having raised over £25k to date. She started illustrating Jack Brock Christmas cards in 2019, with proceeds of the sales going to dementia charities local to her home in Norwich. This will be Ali’s first book.
