An eclectic mixture of hands-on activities was smooshed together Saturday at Art Lab 419 on Monroe Street as kids let their curiosity and creativity lead the way during the Authors, Animals & Art event. 

“The eyes are really big!” Marlowe Appold, 6, of Rossford, said about Moon, the 13-year-old barred owl that came to the event with a handler from Nature’s Nursery. 

Animals like Moon were the highlight of the event designed to raise money for Nature’s Nursery, the Whitehouse-based wildlife rescue and refuge.

“Right now we are working on finishing a new building that we're moving into,” said Allison Schroeder Aey, Nature’s Nursery’s executive director and the author of two children’s books. “So the financial support to be able to complete that project is huge.”

But between painting for the children, the opportunity to meet a live owl, a live caricature artist, and two children’s book authors on hand, financial support was not a main consideration for many.

“It's so cool with the colors and the white!” Harper Lyden, 7, of Perrysburg, said of Moon, a clear favorite during the event.

And even though everyone wanted a chance with their favorite barred owl, there was no delay or impediment with so many different options for activities.

“It was wonderful,” said Amie Barone, 44, of Ottawa Hills, who had brought her three daughters to the event. “We weren't expecting all the activities, so meeting the authors and painting was nice — kind of a bonus.”

In addition to Ms. Schroeder Aey, author Katie Maskey, 41, of Lambertville was on hand with her three animal-themed books that feature a cat named Ferdinand with “extra toes.” 

“I thought it was just a book signing,” said Kim Dickey, 52, of Monclova. “I didn't realize that so much more for the kids.”

Even the youth activities were smattered with a touch of grown-up education. 

“This is actually a book about a baby owl that we rescued, and we were able to work with a local tree company to get it back up into its nest,” Ms. Schroeder Aey said about her first book, One Special Owl.

“You know, they are written for a young audience, but what we find is that adults reading them also learn a lot about wildlife,” Ms. Schroeder Aey said about her books, which tell tales of creatures she has interacted with at the Whitehouse sanctuary. 

“In simplistic terms, they learn more about what we do at Nature's Nursery, and it helps get them encouraged to support us as a nonprofit organization,” she said.

Allison’s pen name is her maiden name, Schroeder, and 100 percent of her books’ proceeds beyond covering publishing costs go to Nature’s Nursery.

One Special Owl and One Friendly Fox are available for purchase on Amazon for anyone who missed the event. 

First Published March 4, 2023, 11:54 p.m.