Ten years ago Turlock’s Tammy Bird decided to make a dramatic shift in her life. She sold all her possessions, bought an RV and went to live in the Santa Cruz mountains.

Away from the hustle and bustle of daily life in town, Bird, a devoted conservationist, found a spark of creativity that grew daily. In the quiet Bird imagined the life of Beatrice a spunky, young guardian of the planet who traversed the world on adventures.

Over the years the stories delighted her young daughter Zoe, but went no further than their home.

Now though, Bird’s imaginative tales have given rise to her first children’s book “Mystic Ship.”

“This was something I had been working on in various forms for a couple of years and then it kind of all came into being and formed really fast at the end,” Bird said.

“Mystic Ship” tells the story of Beatrice and her best friend Summersby as they set out on the sea. The story is told in rhyme.

“They find themselves captivated by the underwater life,” Bird said. “It’s a story about conservation and loving the planet.”

Bird wanted the book to have a homespun feel, so as an advocate for small business, so she had the first run of the book printed at Seeger’s Printing in Turlock. She also used her daughter’s painting of a red ship with a rainbow flag as the cover.

Bird has created a whimsical puppet show to go along with the story and she will be performing it at Lightly Used Books starting at 2 p.m. Monday. Bird also will have copies of the book for sale at the free event, which ends at 4 p.m.

Two more of Beatrice’s adventures are already planned, with “Fairies Pledge” and “Beatrice’s Garden” in the works.

Lightly Used Books is located at 141 N. Center Street in Turlock.