From Pupil to Published

Sonja (right) and Eve (left) Funnell with their illustrations for the book series "The Adventures of Henry."

 By Noell Dickmann
Student Multimedia reporter

Not many people can say they have published a book by the age of 21. Sonja Funnell, however, can say she has three under her belt. The UW Oshkosh senior works as an illustrator for a series of children’s books called "The Adventures of Henry." She’s already done three of the seven books in the series. Her sister, Eve Funnell, is also working on the series. The UW Oshkosh sophomore has already completed one book and is currently working on a second.

The books are based on bedtime stories created by Henry Anderson, son of UW Oshkosh alumni Darrin Anderson (MBA 2010). Henry passed away in 2009 at age 3 of a disease called Bruton’s X-linked Agammaglobulinemia (XLA). The Andersons created the series to honor their late son. When they needed an illustrator for the books, they went back to their alma mater and discovered the talents of Sonja and Eve.

The situation works out well on both ends. Both Sonja and Eve are in artistic majors, and Darrin Anderson is thrilled to have found them. He says, “Both Eve and Sonja have done a remarkable job at taking my son's stories and creating an illustrated visual adventure series. I have found working with them to be the best thing I have done.”

The Adventures of Henry series can be found at House of Heroes, Paper Tiger, Klassy Kids, and Turn Key Auto (all located in Oshkosh) as well as the series website: www.adventuresofhenry.com