The Prince Albert area has a rich literary tradition featuring strong authors, and you can add one more name to that list with children’s author Cindy Koob.

Koob celebrated the launch of her first children’s book Nobody Tells Me What to Do! with a reading at the John M. Cuelenaere Library on Saturday.

Amid the toadstool-shaped stools and colourful floor mats for the younger crowd, and the chairs outlining the room, Cindy Koob read and acted out her book about a young man named Dillon who takes on all forms of authority in his life.  The book itself was inspired by someone Koob had seen at a local school.

“This boy was marching down the hallway, and he was saying ‘nobody tells me what to do, nobody tells me what to do,’” Koop said during the reading. “I thought, ‘can you imagine if nobody ever told you what to do?’

Koob began imagining, and her new children’s book was the result. It focuses on how Dillon’s experience gives him a lesson in the importance of leadership.

After the reading on Monday, children and adults in attendance took part in a discussion about who some of society’s leaders are arose. People such as teachers and doctors came up, but surprisingly enough, parents were not brought up as leaders of any capacity by audience members.

“I was surprised, too,” Koob admits. “I didn’t bring it out, but I was also going to mention elders too. Elders give great advice!”

Koob was born and raised on the prairies. She cites her family, her walk with Christ, and her community for providing a solid foundation.

Nobody Tells Me What to Do is Koob’s first book, but fans want to know, will she be writing anything else?

“I’m excited about my second one coming out because it’s all about diversity, inclusion, and overcoming adversity, living in hard places,” Koob said.

Copies of Nobody Tells Me What to Do! are available at The Artisan Gallery at 1101 Central Avenue in Prince Albert, and at Indigo-McNally in Saskatoon. Her Instagram account is @CindyKoob.