Jeff Devlin, of Schoolhouse Woodworking, hosted a party last week for a new children’s book, The Story Of Neeps And Tattie, at his Sycamore & Stone Farm in Chester Springs, writes Melissa Jacobs for Main Line Tonight.

Amy Johnson, a Valley Forge resident, and Diane Madden, of Harrison, Maine, penned the story of a ten-year-old Annie who adopts two tortoises from a glen close to her Loch Ness home.

Decades later, Annie continues to care for the two hard-shelled creatures in their natural habitats — except during the winter, when they hibernate in her refrigerator.

The book was thoughtfully illustrated by Abigail Gray Schwartz and published by Maine Authors Publishing.

The two authors met the real Annie during their trip to Scotland in 2019. They noticed a lovely stucco home with a small pond. After chatting with the owner, they discovered there were two 50-year-old tortoises living in the pond.

“We asked if we could see them, and the woman said that they were in her refrigerator,” said Madden. “Turns out, tortoises need to hibernate in refrigerators, basements, or temperature-controlled places.”

Read more about The Story Of Neeps And Tattie in Main Line Tonight.

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