Mars resident Ronna Drennen wrote and illustrated a children's book, “Sugar Cookies with Pink Icing,” which is her first foray into authorship. Submitted photo

A little girl named Lucy goes to visit with her grandparents, where she learns that her grandfather is quite the handyman.

It’s a short, simple story punctuated by pictures of Lucy and her adventures with her grandparents, but Ronna Drennen, the author of the new book, “Sugar Cookies with Pink Icing,” said it is inspired by her parents. The drawings are also done by Drennen, who said she wanted the art to be equally simple.

“The story itself has a lot of my dad in it,” said Drennen, of Mars. “I illustrated it as well, that took about a year-and-a-half to do. The illustrations are very simple.”

Drennen published the children’s book in October through Palmetto Publishing and it is available on booksellers’ websites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She has also done readings of the book in Zelienople and Butler. She said she plans to do more readings in coming months.

Drennen said she intended for the book to be a story children could latch onto through it being read to them by their parents. She said she has always been an advocate for reading to children, having read to her three daughters often when they were children.

“I do really feel it’s so important for parents to not lose that gift of sitting and reading with your children. It’s so important and this is just another tool,” Drennen said. “Any time you get that opportunity to sit with your child, it just says so much.”

“Sugar Cookies with Pink Icing” is available through online retailers.