The Adventures of Ragweed and Petals in the "Big Apple"

About the Book

This is a heartfelt story of childhood innocence and naivety, a story that began out of boredom one very wet and rainy afternoon in Tokyo, Japan. While on a concert tour of Japan with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 1982, cellist, artist, and author Peter David Snyder happened to walk by a local stationary store on a very wet morning and noticed a uniquely packaged set of drawing pens. Wanting something to draw with besides a pencil, he went inside the store and purchased them. Since the continual rainy weather showed no signs of letting up, the pen set would enable him to enjoy the free time in a relaxed and creative manner. As he began to sketch some arbitrary flowers he’d seen outside the hotel in the gardens, some ideas began to take shape on his sketchpad. Gradually as he continued drawing, he realized that their look and color could develop into something very special. The idea of a comic strip featuring two talking flowers came to mind. The thought of two flowers talking to one another about the mundane daily activities that usually occurred in an average garden was interesting and intriguing. Worms, snails, all crawling around them, or the ever-pervasive and creeping morning glory vines would provide constant banter for them in the beginning.

About the Author

Peter David Snyder, musician and cellist, retired from the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the end of 2008 after thirty-six seasons. Long active as a performer and chamber musician, he has been called a renaissance man because of his broad range of creative interests, including those of silversmithing, model trains, and creative writing. The motivation of his first book was based on the love he has for his grandchildren and their shared imaginations!