Behind the Scenes- The story behind The Duckworth Chronicles

The idea of Duckworth, like Duckworth himself. was born in St Michaels, Maryland. Some of the ladies of the community were starting up a consignment shop and were looking for a name for their new venture. My wife, Barbara and I discussed it and thought that it needed a name that combined two themes: Waterfowl and quality second hand goods. I conceived the idea of a duck that, through a series of unlikely circumstances had saved his owner's life and been rewarded with his own wildlife sanctuary. The story line would be that the duck also ran the Consignment Shop as a sort of hobby and dropped by occasionally. The place could be decorated with decoys and cards could be given out with the story. I figured the tourists would love it, but what to name the duck? What name would convey waterfowl and quality goods? So Duckworth was born, or Bosley J. Duckworth if you are being formal. It's dignified, conveys both ducks and quality, and is just a little silly. In the end, the ladies decided to call the shop Treasure Cove, which is not a bad name either.
Meanwhile, our two granddaughters, like grandchildren everywhere, were asking us to tell them stories, so Duckworth got a new lease on life as a star in his own adventures. The basic premise of the duck with the wildlife preserve was maintained, but Duckworth's world was soon filled out with other animal characters as quirky as he was. In the stories, Duckworth evolved as the duck who kept his head when the others were in a panic about one thing or another.
As the stories accumulated, we thought it would be a good idea to collect them in a children's book, so The Duckworth Chronicles was born. As an offshoot, we started The Duckworth Project for kids helping kids. The project is simple. Any non profit organization such as a church or youth group can apply to us and we will send them 10 copies of the Duckworth Chronicles free of charge that they can use for fund raising. They sell the books for whatever they want and keep the money. The Duckworth Project has been instrumental in helping several churches and youth organizations finance conferences and field trips. The books we send are hand packed by our granddaughters.