Sisters honor father with book on kindness

When Sarah (Donnelly) Cotty and Rachel (Donnelly) Ipsan were growing up in Cedar Rapids in the 1960s and 70s, they were the youngest in a family of 10 — six girls and two boys.

But actually, three additional members were in the household: a set of imaginary triplets named Nina, Nancy and Nono, who were featured in bedtime stories created by their father, John Donnelly, longtime executive vice president and treasurer for The Gazette.

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Cotty and Ipsan recently co-authored their first children’s book, “The Triplets and the New Kid,” which features these beloved characters from their childhood, as well as illustrations from Coralville illustrator Mackinzie Rekers.

And while the book is way to keep these characters alive, Cotty and Ipsan also wanted to honor their father and share his legacy of kindness.

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Storytelling

Dinnertime was special in the Connelly household, and the stories told around the table became inspiration for their father.

“We always had dinner together, no matter what,” said Cotty, 61, of Cedar Rapids. Their father worked long hours at The Gazette. “He’d come home for dinner, and he’d go back to work.”

And at night, when tucking the kids into bed, “He’d make a story up about the three little characters and how those three would deal with the situation we talked about at dinner,” she added.

“He just had a way of creating something from what little nugget he heard at dinner,” said Ipsan, 56, of Robins. “And then you would always learn the lesson from Nono. That was always how he wrapped it up. And it was always wrapped up in being kind.”

“The Triplets and the New Kid” is not a retelling of a story their father created. Rather Cotty and Ipsan are using the characters created by their father to tell impactful stories to a new generation of kids.

“We’ve made up our own story based on kindness and the golden rule that Mom and Dad always taught us,” Cotty said.

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Inspiration

For more than 20 years, Ipsan wanted to write a children’s book featuring Nina, Nancy and Nono, but it never seemed to be the right time.

“Then Sarah retired in 2019 and said: ‘Hey — I know you’re thinking about doing this. Would you want to do it together,’ ” Ipsan recalled. “And I was like: ‘Absolutely.’ ”

“The story itself we wrote very fast,” Cotty noted. “We knew what we wanted it to be about and we knew it was going to be a new kid at school. Because that actually happened to me. ... There was a new kid introduced in the middle of the school year and kids were so mean. It just stuck with me.”

In the book, the three characters all have different reactions to the situation at school and, as Ipsan explained, “Those three different reactions still maybe aren’t great. And so (readers) learn that even if you sit quiet and don’t say anything, you still should be sticking up for the new kid.”

“It’s different perspectives from each of the girls and that’s what we hope to do in the series as we write more books — keep that consistent where kids could relate to any one of the three girls.”

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As kids read the book, they are encouraged to search each page for the hidden letters TEK, which stand for a secret message of kindness that is revealed at the end of the book.

“At the beginning we don’t say what TEK means — we just say, ‘Help us find the TEK letters,’ ” Cotty said. Then, when readers have finished the book and learn what TEK means, “They’re so excited they want to go read it again, which was the whole point. So that’s why we purposefully didn’t say what it meant at the beginning because it makes them excited.”

Ipsan agreed. “It’s nice to have the teaser work out from the kids’ perspective.”

In addition to encouraging readers young and old to move through the world with kindness, authors Cotty and Ipsan also are inspiring others to take chances on long-held dreams of their own.

“You have to be passionate about what you’re doing,” Cotty said. “We’ve always been close but this (project) just made us even closer.”

“It’s like the old adage: ‘If you love what you do it’s not like a job,’ ” Ipsan said. “At times it was overwhelming just because there was so much stuff we didn’t know about the (publishing) process. But doing it was so much fun. We were close to our parents but (writing the book) makes you just appreciate them more.”

“Especially because they’re not here,” Cotty added.

Next steps

Cotty and Ipsan plan to turn the Triplet books into a series, with each book focusing on a different lesson.

“The next one we’re thinking is a lesson on sportsmanship,” Cotty explained. “It’s a different lesson each book, but then they end the night at the dinner table with the TEK interactive part. We’ll always have that in there.”

The Feb. 24 Amazon pre-launch for the first book went “amazingly well,” the sisters said, with more than 800 books already sold.

“It’s been overwhelming,” Cotty said. “We did it because to honor our dad and it’s a goal that we’ve always had to bring these characters to life. If people loved it, great; but that was not our focus. And now that we’re hearing this great feedback and seeing kids love the book ... it’s very heartwarming.”

“Our parents were just the greatest people in the world,” Ipsan said. “We wanted to do them justice.”