Sault man publishes children’s book based on pumpkin boat adventure

The Sault’s Brent Rouble has combined pleasant childhood memories with a recent memorable adult adventure to produce his first book.

Rouble’s Johnny & the Bear and The Giant Pumpkin, a children’s book, was released Oct. 8.

“When I was a little kid my dad would make up stories for my brother and sister and I about Johnny and the Bear, two fictional characters he made up. He would make up the stories on the spot. Every evening he would just make them up and tell them to us,” Rouble told SooToday.

“We always said ‘dad, you've got to write a book about Johnny and the Bear. You should make a series about them.’ He always said he should but he never ended up doing it. The stories were so good. We just loved them. I still remember them and I still say to this day a series should be written about these characters. This is my way to kick start that, I hope.”

SooToday readers will recognize Rouble as the man who paddled his hollowed-out 900-pound pumpkin for 23 kilometres along the St. Marys River in October 2023.

The huge pumpkin earned Rouble first place in the 2023 Algoma Farmers Market’s annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off.

That voyage down the river was an attempt to break the Guinness World Record of paddling in a giant pumpkin for more than 62 kilometres.

“Johnny and the Bear always went on wild adventures, so I thought this would be a cool adventure inspired by a true story, my pumpkin boat adventure, so I came up with Johnny & the Bear and The Giant Pumpkin,” Rouble said.

The book sees Johnny attempt to reunite the Bear with his family on a distant island by paddling there in a giant pumpkin. 

“It’s kind of funny because some things in the book are inspired by my journey on the pumpkin boat,” Rouble said.

“In the book it talks about how word of their journey spread through town and people came to watch the pumpkin boat launch, which is exactly what happened to me. The book mentions birds flying around and there was one point on my journey when I saw an eagle circling me. The whole pumpkin boat journey was inspiring for me and made me want to write this book.”

Rouble said he started work on the book not long after his pumpkin boat journey.

“I made the outline, a draft and then I kept beefing it up. Over the course of the year I got to the final product. My two-year-old son loves it.”

The 26-page book, for children two to 10 years of age to enjoy, is for sale through Amazon for $29.97.

Rouble said he makes approximately $12 from the sale of each book and that he will donate his earnings to the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA.

“We are at 27 book orders as of right now. That’s about $342 that will be donated to the YMCA, and counting,” Rouble said Oct. 17. 

Due to high operational costs, inflation and a slow return to pre-COVID levels of participation, the Sault YMCA made a bombshell announcement in April that it would cease operating May 15, 2024 and that its building at 235 McNabb St. would be put up for sale.

A solution came about in July.

Community support for the Sault YMCA led the Dr. Lou and Mae Lukenda Charitable Foundation to purchase the YMCA building for $2 million with the condition that $1 million in upgrades be completed by the City of Sault Ste. Marie.

“I really hope sales of the book can raise some money for the YMCA,” Rouble said.

“I bought a membership a few months ago as a way to help the YMCA. I grew up going to the YMCA. I’m a big believer in it. When I saw it was going under, I thought the same way as a lot of other people in the sense of ‘how can I help?’ I look at the book as a creative way to help the YMCA and now that it’s been saved I don’t think we should just stop. I think it still needs our help. This book is an easy way to support the YMCA just by buying a $30 children’s book.”

Rouble said he’s working on a sea shanty song for children, another children’s book and a longer, non-fiction self-help book for adults.

“I have a lot of passions and I like to act on those passions,” Rouble said.

“Writing the book was easy. It was fun for me but finding an illustrator was a big hurdle. I’m happy I got it done and I’m hoping word will spread and we can help charities in creative ways like this. I’m optimistic for the next book, the next publishing adventure. I’ve been reading a lot of kids' books the past two years. I’ll be reading a lot more and I’m glad I can contribute to my children's book collection,” said Rouble, the father of two young children.

Rouble said he believes he can get his storytelling father Steve Rouble to write down Johnny & the Bear adventures for publication.

“My dad said he might try to write some of the stories he remembers about Johnny and the Bear so with any luck this might become a series. I’d love to get him to write the books and I’d help to get them illustrated one way or another. It would be interesting co-authoring them with my dad."

Prior to the release of his book, Rouble took first place for growing the heaviest pumpkin at the Algoma Farmers Market’s annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off for the second consecutive year in early October.

Rouble’s winning pumpkin weighed 636 pounds.

Father Steve Rouble took second place with a 581-pound pumpkin.

“Mine is in my driveway and what I’m going to do is cut a hole in it like I did for the pumpkin boat and put a skeleton with a paddle in it for Halloween,” he said with a chuckle.