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Can you handle the cute? Local author inspired by sea otters

They’re “easily one of the cutest creatures on the planet," says Stefanie Fields – and they’ve inspired the author to write her fourth children’s book.

They’re “easily one of the cutest creatures on the planet," says Stefanie Fields – and they’ve inspired the author to write her fourth children’s book.

The author, originally from Bellingham, now makes her home in New Westminster.

 Sea Otter/PixabaySea Otter/Pixabay

She’s currently running a Kickstarter campaign to help fund her new kids’ picture book, The Greatest Treasure, illustrated by Heather Gross.

The story synopsis is a simple one: “For Sam the Sea Otter, a priceless family heirloom leads to the best day ever, until a seagull fight changes everything.”

 The Greatest Treasure is a new offering from local author Stefanie Fields. - KickstarterThe Greatest Treasure is a new offering from local author Stefanie Fields. – Kickstarter

What happens next won’t be revealed, but Fields is promising that young readers will take away a valuable lesson “about not being attached to material things because the most precious things in life aren’t things.”

But the book comes with a warning: cuteness overload.

“You take otters, and you add Heather’s amazing illustrations, and you end up with a book that’s so cute we might not be able to handle it,” Fields says in a video on her Kickstarter page.

Money raised in the campaign will go toward artwork, copyrights, distribution, marketing and other publishing costs.

Fields’ future goal is to partner with a big-name publishing house so The Greatest Treasure can get into as many schools and libraries as possible, in Canada, the U.S. and beyond.

A portion of sales from the book will go towards ocean conservation efforts. As of this post, the campaign had already surpassed its funding goal, but Fields noted in a message to the Record that “The more backers we have = the more books we sell = the more money we donate to help clean the ocean!”

Check out this site for the Kickstarter campaign and information.