Oxford Author Returns Home to Share Her Books at Square Books Jr. Saturday

By Alyssa Schnugg

News editor

alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

When Alison Thompson decided to write children’s books about her two kids, she didn’t just want them to be the subjects, she wanted them to be co-authors and part of the entire experience.

She’s done just that with her two books, “Super Lucas” and “Twos With Tootie!” which she will be reading at 10 a.m. On Saturday at Square Book Jr.

And of course, the two stars of the books, Lucas and Tootie will be at her side.

Thompson was born and raised in Oxford and graduated from Oxford High School in 2008. She attended the University of Mississippi where she earned two bachelor’s degrees in psychology and communicative disorders in 2013.

She met her husband, Jeremy, at church while in Oxford. The two moved to Southhaven in 2016 where they still currently reside. They have two children – Lucas, 6, and Aria, 3, whose nickname is Tootie.

When Lucas was 2 years old in 2017, he was able to recognize a lot of numbers, letters, shapes and colors and Thompson thought her son was pretty “super.” It was then the idea for her book was born; however, it would be 2020 during the pandemic before she put pen to paper.

“God gave me the idea to write the book and we went ahead and did that while we had time at home,” she said.

“Super Lucas” inspires all children to use their own superpowers to make the world a better place.

“You don’t have to be like Lucas but use what you have to make this world a place that people want to live in,” Thompson said.

Her second book, “Twos with Tootie!” was inspired by her daughter when she was less than a year old.

“Every morning during her 4 a.m. Feeding, I would recite “Phenomenal Woman,” by Dr. Maya Angelou to her,” she said. “After a while, I’d hear her kind of humming like she was trying to recite the poem to me.”

“Twos with Tottie!” is a nod to poetry and is all about the number 2 – and that we have two hands, two nostrils, two ears and what we use those pairs for,” Thompson said.

Thompson incorporates her children whenever she can in the process of creating and promoting the two books.

“I didn’t want to just write the books for them, I wanted them to be the authors also,” she said. “Whatever we do – story times or book signings, they dress up as their characters and act out the stories. They are the authors, they’re the actors, they’re the advertisers. This is theirs.”

It will be Thompson’s first book reading/signing back in her hometown.

“When you’re an author and you get to come to Square Books, you know you’ve made it,” she said.

Her books are available online on Amazon in paperback form, but the hardcover books are only available at Square Books Jr.

“It was a major goal of mine to have the books at Square Books Jr. and not to just be on the shelf but actually participating and having our friends and family able to come out with us and enjoy story time,” she said.