BOLIVAR, Mo. — “Keep Hope Alive,” a children’s book written and illustrated by Kurt Caddy, is a story of vision, courage, sacrifice and, of course – hope.
Inspired by the Native American Lakota tribe, the story of Little Mouse and his vision to reach The Far Off Lands leads him to encounters with characters along the way, who, in their own way, face obstacles that keep them from being able to enjoy what makes them unique and to “do what the Creator made them to do.”
Little Mouse sacrifices his gifts in order to bless those he meets along his journey
and, in turn, is blessed beyond measure when he reaches his vision.
Caddy, director of University Ministries at Southwest Baptist University, has a heart for the Lakota people since visiting the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota six years ago.
“Poverty, hurt, despair, hopelessness were everywhere,” Caddy says on his Four Winds Art website. “The brokenness I was personally dealing with connected with the brokenness of the place and the people. And yet, in the middle of all this hurt and despair, I found a beauty and a sliver of hope that has been my inspiration.”
Upon his return from that trip, Caddy began to paint for the first time in 20 years. His art focuses on the beauty, and raising awareness, of the Lakota people.
“That became a process of using art and gifts that I’d been given that I’d let sit for a long time, to use them to advocate, to speak up for other people,” Caddy said. “I feel like I’m using what I have to get the word out about a beautiful culture and a beautiful people who are living in some pretty difficult times.”
For Caddy, the book was an extension of the return to painting and advocacy for the Lakota people.
“It was a story that I wanted to tell about hoping and enduring because I met so many hopeless people, desperate people,” Caddy said. “I wanted to give them something that they could attach themselves to. I wanted it to be culturally appropriate for them, but not exclusively for them, so that a person from Bolivar could read it (and enjoy and relate to it).”
The book is available now and can be purchased by contacting Caddy at kcaddy@SBUniv.edu, by Facebook message (Kurt Caddy) or at www.4windsart.com.
A portion of the proceeds of the book, which retails for $15, will be donated to teen suicide prevention on the reservation. Actual books will also be donated to children and organizations on the reservations.