GENEVA – A Geneva artist and a former Geneva resident have collaborated on a children’s book called “Cumie, the Brave Little Cloud.”

Kathryn Nagel, 29, a Geneva artist, and Wehrmeister, 66, a former Geneva resident now living in Santa Rosa, Calif., worked together long distance during the COVID lockdown in 2021, to create a children’s story about birth, life and death, as told through a little girl cloud.

The Little Traveler, 404 S. Third St., Geneva, will debut the book, and host readings and art workshops involving the book from 10:30 a.m. to noon on July 28, across the street at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 320 Franklin St.

“Ninety percent of the book I cranked out on a winter afternoon in January or February 2021,” Wehrmeister said. “I sent it to her to take a crack at this.”

Nagel said she jumped at Wehrmeister’s out-of-the-blue request.

“I said yes, I would love to illustrate the book and it was just a fun project to do,” Nagel said.

“And early May, she came up with 27 illustrations that gave me exactly what was in my mind’s eye,” Wehrmeister said. “We worked through a hybrid publisher AuthorHouse in Bloomington, Ind.”

The story concerns a little girl cumulous cloud, born of water vapor, who is having fun until she realizes she is sluggish and older, Wehrmeister said.

“Mother Earth ultimately has to let her know she is no longer going to exist,” Wehrmeister said. “That concerns her greatly, but she cannot hold the rain in any more. She realizes how welcome her rain is, as she fades from existence and takes great pride in purpose in her life.”

The story is intended for children age 3-8 for its message to communicate gently the realities of birth, life and death in a way a child can grasp, Wehrmeister said.

Ticket information is available on the Little Traveler website, www.littletraveler.com.

Wehrmeister will read the book and Nagel will show how she created the digital illustrations. Children can participate in a hands-on art workshop with a book signing to follow.

Wehrmeister is a retired reporter, editor, columnist and communications professional. He was managing editor of “Moose” magazine, the national publication of the Moose fraternal organization based at Mooseheart for 22 years. Wehrmeister also previously authored “Mooseheart: A Century of Giving.”

Nagel is a graduate of the Northern Illinois University School of Art and Design.

She is also the daughter of Rick Nagel, also a local journalist, and a lifelong friend and colleague of Wehrmeister’s.

“I’ve known Kathryn Nagel from when I held her in my arms when she was born in the spring of 1994,” Wehrmeister said. “I watched her grow up. And when she was in college and started posting some of her artwork – she has a real future.”

Wehrmeister also has known The Little Traveler owner Michael Simon since childhood.

“He was very gracious in hosting this,” Wehrmeister said.