Welcome to Ranger Jim!

The Ridley family, summer 2021. That’s me in the center with my wife, Heidi, and our four boys. This is the audience who first inspired, heard and loved Ranger Jim.

This project is a labor of love, but I’m embarrassed to reveal how many years it has been since Heidi (and a few others) first encouraged me to make a book out of a Ranger Jim story. I can’t really explain my procrastination other than perhaps never being able to see an author when I looked in the mirror. I should also confess that Rich Sigberman, who is the brilliant illustrator of these books, first did a color mock up of “Lost Boy” over 15 years ago. To be fair, when Rich and I discussed what it would cost to get finished art and I added the costs of printing an initial batch, I realized I just wasn’t in a financial position to carry the project forward at the time. Further, in the category of being too willing to get discouraged, I actually got a rejection letter from the one book publisher to whom I submitted the manuscript: he didn’t think it was realistic for animals to speak with Ranger Jim. I probably picked the wrong publisher for my single shot!

Now that the kids are mostly grown and our day jobs have treated Heidi and me pretty well, I’ve become emotionally and financially ready to bring Ranger Jim to life. I’m sure Rich Sigberman was shocked when I reached out to him about picking things up where we’d left off, but as you can see, his finished art was worth the wait and he’s been an incredible partner. I look forward to continuing to work with him on as many more books as there are Ranger Jim stories.

I love reading the books out loud to kids - I did readings in all the boys’ classrooms and really look forward to doing more. It never takes long before the little ones are finishing the sentences, “Whoop! Zoom! Roar!” and even “Whifferdill and Octaflugeron!”

As we go through time, I’ll post some photos and other vignettes that provide inspiration for the stories and keep Ranger Jim and his animal friends alive and well in my mind.

I hope you enjoy these stories. I’d love to hear from you.

Chip

August, 2021