Retired teacher publishes debut educational children’s book
By Jules Rogers, The West Side Newspaper
A retired Salem-Keizer elementary school teacher, Ginny Ryan, is now a debut author.
Ryan’s new educational children’s book “Zoo Tracks” is intended to encourage children’s curiosity, imagination, and love of learning. It was published in April 2026.
“Zoo Tracks” has similar vibes to the “The Magic School Bus” books. It follows a young boy visiting the zoo with his grandfather and his teddy bear, encountering animals, learning fun facts, and discovering themes of courage, kindness, and the special bond between generations.
The book, aimed for audiences ages 4-8, also features interactive questions to encourage children to keep learning after the story ends.
“There are many take-away lessons tucked into the story. Making the right decision isn’t always easy, but we can learn from our mistakes,” Ryan said. “If a child enjoys spending time with a grandparent, visiting the zoo, and exploring through imagination, I think ‘Zoo Tracks’ will be a good fit.”
Ryan said accomplishing her lifetime goal of publishing a book has been an incredible, exciting, and emotional journey.
“I hope readers know that Zoo Tracks was created from a lifetime of experiences with children and a deep love of learning,” Ryan said. “After 33 years as an educator, writing this book has been a wonderful way to continue encouraging children to be curious, imaginative, and confident explorers of the world around them.”
From teaching to writing
As a teacher, Ryan recalls enjoying creative writing throughout her life. From reading books, playing outside, and using her imagination with her sister, Ryan learned what makes a story great. She said she always had stories inside her.
“Writing was taught very differently when I was in grade school … teachers weren’t as concerned about the mechanics of writing (and) we wrote freely about a topic,” Ryan said. “Junior high is where I remember learning about structure and paragraphing.”
In high school, Ryan enjoyed when her English teacher read her work out loud, enjoying the challenge of writing something amusing.
“When I taught children how to write, we started with story ideas based on things we knew well. I had so many stories to share that I never ran out of ideas for modeling the writing process for my students,” Ryan said. “During my last year of teaching, I started thinking about how I would spend my time once I retired. I began writing after work and on weekends.”
Journey to publishing
Ryan said she had sent several queries to publishers throughout her career, but only received discouraging rejections from those who weren’t taking on any more books at the time.
After retiring from teaching, family obligations, substitute teaching, pickleball, and Paws for Love Therapy Dogs took time away from her writing.
It was fall of 2025 before Ryan finally had time to explore finishing one of her manuscripts she had set aside.
“The excitement for writing came rushing back. I couldn’t stop thinking about the characters and figuring out how to bring them to life. I had a vision for the scenes, and I was finally able to create them,” Ryan said. “‘Zoo Tracks’ evolved over many years. It originated as a story I modeled for my students after we returned from a field trip to the zoo.”
She revisited the zoo, studying the polar bear exhibit and ways to bring the story to life, and let her imagination take over.
“As a teacher, I have always believed that learning is most meaningful when children are engaged and having fun,” Ryan said. “The animal fun facts help explain why some of Timothy’s imaginings were not the safest.”
According to Ryan, one of the biggest challenges was learning everything that goes into publishing a book.
“Writing the story was only the beginning. I had to learn about illustration, formatting, printing, editing, and all of the many details involved in bringing a book to life,” Ryan said. “It was a challenging process, but also an exciting learning experience. There is so much more to creating a book than I ever realized.”
What’s next
Ryan said the response to her debut has been incredibly meaningful.
“I’ve been touched by the encouragement from former students, families, friends, educators, and community members,” Ryan said. “Seeing children connect with the book has been especially rewarding because that is where my journey began — sharing stories and learning with children.”
Next, Ryan has two new stories in the works, one about an alpha cat and a new puppy joining the family, and another based on the Aumsville tornado.
“I hope children see that curiosity, imagination, and kindness are wonderful gifts,” Ryan said. “I also hope they discover that even when something feels a little scary or unfamiliar, they can find courage within themselves and know they are supported by the people who care about them.”
Ryan is slated to participate in the Oregon State Fair Authors Table to meet readers and sign copies of her book on Friday, September 4, from 4-8 p.m. She is also touring libraries and classrooms to share her book and talk with students about writing.
Learn more by following Ryan on Instagram @GinnyRyanORAuthor.