Caroline B. Cook —
a Nashville children's
book author.

Caroline B. Cook is a children's book author in Nashville, Tennessee. She writes The Virtue Series — gently faith-based picture books for ages four to seven, each one built around a single virtue. Joy Is, Kind Is, and Still Is came first; Church Kitty is the newest volume. They are the kind of Southern, story-first picture books that end up stained with frosting, tucked under pillows, and eventually handed down.

The books are a family affair, and the part people most often get backwards is worth saying plainly: Caroline writes every word, and her mother, Trisha T. Bridges, paints every page. Trisha is an oil painter who taught herself watercolor for these books. A daughter's words, a mother's brush — two generations at one kitchen table in Tennessee.

How it started

One night Caroline was reading her son a book about dirt — he knew every word — and she thought, surely she could fill him up with something better than that. On a quiet trip soon after, with her Bible in her lap, she realized she hadn't been still in ten years. She started writing, and by the time she flew home she had three: Joy, Kind, and Still. If you're new to the series, Caroline says to start with Still — “because that's where it started, and really good stuff comes when we're still.”

Faith, woven in gently

These are faith-based children's books, but never heavy-handed. Each volume anchors a virtue with a quiet scripture reference in the back, while the story itself stays gentle enough for any child to enjoy — which is exactly why you'll find The Virtue Series at home in Christian bookstores and general gift shops alike. As Caroline puts it: “I wrote these so you could give it to anyone. You don't have to be Christian to appreciate kindness.” They make a natural gift for baby showers, baptisms, birthdays, Sunday-school shelves, and bedtime stacks.

Church Kitty

Church Kitty is Volume IV of The Virtue Series — a story about faith and belonging, starring a little cat who finds her way home to the pew. (Read closely: there's a hidden Church Kitty on every page.) She now comes two ways — as the picture book and as a soft tabby plush companion with a Church Kitty tag at her collar, for a first baptism gift or a Sunday-morning friend.

Signed copies, from Nashville

Caroline is happy to sign. Check the Request author signature box at checkout and she'll sign your book by hand before it ships free from Nashville. Want them all? The Complete Virtue Series gathers all four volumes together. And Caroline's stated dream is a simple one: “I want to be an old lady still writing children's books.”