“It’s wonderful because we’re trying to inspire creativity and their imagination," Treat said.

LONG BEACH — Pages from a Peninsula-based children’s book came to life last week for a local elementary school class.

About the book:

About the book:

Inky & the Misfits

Penelope Treat, author

Children’s fiction, 27 pages

Available at: Time Enough Books (Ilwaco), Lucy’s Books (Astoria)

On Friday, March 15, third grade students from Long Beach Elementary traveled to Cranguyma Farms, where scenes from the children’s book Inky & the Misfits, a tall ‘tail’ about a dog who thought she was part bear, were brought to life.

The book, authored by Penelope Treat, was introduced to local elementary students as part of their curriculum, where they explored the narrative genre.

Popular characters from the book, set on a cranberry farm, include the protagonist Inky, a black miniature schnauzer; Fat Cat, a chubby yellow barn cat, and Hick-Up, a guitar-playing green frog, among others, including a white bear and a yellow slug.

Themes in the book deal with friendship and adventure, featuring farm animals in a bucolic setting. Cranguyma Farms, a fifth-generation, 200-acre cranberry, blueberry and holly farm in Long Beach owned by the Glenn family, provided the perfect setting.

In the barn, along the main corridor and in several stalls, were awaiting book-inspired scenes and antidotes.

The children, divided into smaller groups, wandered throughout with teachers and chaperones, stopping to experience each scene or station.

Petting the horses was a goal for many of the kids, others were determined to find the elusive peacocks. One boy eagerly collected chicken feathers as others played with hand-puppet characters from the book.

Each got lost in the wander of farm life, at least for a little while.

“It’s kind of surreal to have it come alive with a working barn and all the things that are in the book, which I remember as a child, from the (barn) swallows to the smell of the saddle room,” said Treat, holding her black miniature schnauzer, Inky, the main inspiration for the book.

“It’s wonderful because we’re trying to inspire creativity and their imagination.”