By Melissa Moore-Randall
Former longtime Revere resident, Kevin McDonald, is the author of his first children’s book. Now a resident of Sarasota, Florida, his book Ella and her Magic Umbrella was inspired by his daughter, Ella Rae and their dog Lacey.
“Quite simply, it’s a story about a little girl walking her dog one morning in the rain, my daughter Ella Rae and our dog Lacey. Young readers can follow along with Ella and her puppy as they take a rainy day stroll across their neighborhood in this picture book by Kevin Macdonald. Along the trip, thanks to her enchanted umbrella, you will discover about the various colors that the world has to offer. Much of the book also features personal inspirations from the old Revere Police Station to Central Fire Station. My nieces and nephews are also depicted along with Ella and Lacey”
When McDonald first had the vision of the book, his daughter, Ella, was 2, He started making stick figure drawings on index cards Eventually he turned in samples to different illustrators before he really found one he liked, Jessie Wheeler. He finally got the book finished and available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble in December 2022.
McDonald grew up on Proctor Avenue with his dad Jack, who was a Revere Police Lieutenant for 33 years, his mother Barbara, two sisters Carol and Laura, and brother Brian.
Kevin attended the old A.C. Barrows School from kindergarten through second grade. It would later close and subsequently burned down. “I have great memories and photos from that school. Thinking back, it reminds me of the movie, A Christmas Story.” He later attended the A.C. Whelan School from third grade through junior high. He would go on to attend Malden Catholic and then onto UMass Amherst, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts.
“Book sales were never really my goal. I just wanted to do something that perhaps my daughter would be proud of someday. Turns out I’m very proud of myself. I could maybe make a habit out of this.”
Ella and her Magic Umbrella is available on Amazon.
