Children's

Tippy Tom
Our Maine Woodland Elf
Discovers Alpacas

by Beverly N. Murdock
Illustrated by Connie Bellet



Tippy Tom watched a group of animals that he didn’t recognize and had never known were nearby. They were beautiful, fluffy, rather long-necked, and tall. Some were brown, or white, or black, or gray, and all were huddled together. It seemed they were in a large fenced-in pasture. Tom knew about cows and horses, but he didn’t know these gorgeous, unusual-looking animals.


The Author 
Beverly N. Murdock, a mother of four, grandmother of seven, two step-grandchildren and great-grandmother of thirteen, has been a storyteller for more than 60 years.

She imagined a little elf named Tippy Tom and made him the star of her stories. These stories have been told and retold to the generations of her children, much to their delight.

As a surprise for the family, Beverly decided to write a book for a Christmas present and have it published for a keepsake. Reviews were very good.

Tippy Tom is a Maine elf living in the woods around the home where Bev, and her late husband George, raised their family.  Beverly has since sold the farm to one of her sons and moved to a smaller home nearby.  However, Tom remains in the area and is often imagined by the little ones, and the not-so-little. Thus the Tales of the Woodland Elf lives on.


The Illustrator
Connie Bellet is a wildlife artist who draws upon the many personal relationships she has had with all sorts of animals when she was a zoo director.  Although her scrimshaw is collected worldwide, she has the most fun with illustrations such as those in this book.

Connie and her husband, singer/songwriter Phil White Hawk, spent 25 years touring across the continent with their multimedia performance, “Inspirada Americana.”  Now retired, Connie and Phil oversee the Community Center and Garden in Palermo, Maine.