The Vegan Toucan is a happy, light-hearted children’s book about a friendly toucan named Stan, who happens to be vegan.  As he attempts to eat a vegan meal, he faces a few obstacles, but his jungle friends ultimately work together and help him out!  This uplifting story also includes a kid-friendly recipe at the end. 

Jenn Kilcomons, the author, is a Park City resident and owner of The Vegan Toucan Press, based in Park City, Utah.  She is also a full-time mom, part-time bookkeeper, and lifelong animal lover and tree hugger.  Jenn believes strongly in showing kindness to all animals and is passionate about protecting our planet.  With climate change knocking at our doors daily, she hopes to make an impact by creating awareness on these topics.  She wrote the book as a gentle introduction for little ones to environmentalism and veganism, and there are several underlying themes such as kindness, listening, respect and teamwork.  She created additional products based on the characters in the book, to continue to create and spread awareness for the important themes in the story.

The illustrator, Chatham Baker, is also a Park City local.  Every morning Chatham leaves a drawing for his young daughter on the kitchen counter. She starts her day with koalas on skateboards, mermaid-bunnies in tutus, whales high-fiving polar bears, robots riding lightning bolts, and beyond.  Professionally, Chatham is an award-winning creative director and brand builder, with a history of doodling through meetings.  He lives in town with his superlative wife, spitfire daughter, oversized dog, and four opinionated chickens.  “The Vegan Toucan” is his first foray into children’s books.