The Gregory Green Adventure series started as picture books I wrote, illustrated, and bound together for my children. The very first story was titled simply Gregory Green and was about a little boy and his teddy bear turning green after eating too much pea soup. I got the idea from my son Danny, who loved my homemade split pea soup, and he had a Cabbage Patch Doll named Sammy.

After that, I created other stories for Gregory and Sammy, such as The Jungle Hunt and Mrs. Robin. I read these stories to my children and then to classes at the schools I worked at. As a librarian assistant, I would read these stories to classes who came into the media center. I would even bring in my son’s Cabbage Patch Doll and act out the story with him. Teachers and students had a lot of fun with these stories, and especially with the real Sammy.

Years later, with Chrys Fey’s help, my daughter, I rewrote the original story for this generation of kids. I kept the fun story line of Gregory turning green after eating too much pea soup, but I wove in a lesson about bullying.

The Original Draft: