The book takes children through a series of Riverside landmarks including the Mission Inn, Mt. Rubidoux, Fairmont park and others

Riverside, CA – Riverside husband-and-wife team Mark and Giselle Cloud recently paired up with illustrator Jessica Provencher to create a new children’s book about their city. Called Hello Riverside!, the book features beloved landmarks like the Heritage House, Mount Rubidoux, and the Mission Inn.

[ecko_quote source=”Mark Cloud”]We are kind of blown away by the fervor over the book – we weren’t expecting to sell this many so quickly, We are very grateful for our new readers.[/ecko_quote]

The Clouds conceived of the book a few years ago when they began reading board books to their first son, Charlie, “As we read through all kinds of books with Charlie, we realized no one had yet written a fun and colorful book about Riverside,” Mark Cloud said. “So, after talking about it for a little while, we decided to do it ourselves.”

After coming up with a simple storyline – the book features a group of cute kids taking readers through Riverside’s most recognizable landmarks – the Clouds began thinking about the illustration.

“I had some definite ideas about what I wanted it to look like,” said Giselle, a local hairdresser and mother of two young boys. “And when a mutual friend showed us some of Jessica’s artwork online, I was like, ‘Yeah, we have to ask her to do it.’ She is so talented.”

Provencher, who goes by Jess Robyn when illustrating, liked the book project and agreed to do the illustrations. “It’s so neat to see my work in a children’s book,” she said. “I hope local kids really enjoy reading it.”

The team’s work is also on exhibit at the California Baptist University Gallery, and runs through March 4 at CBU’s Gallery, located at 3737 Main St., Suite 101 in downtown Riverside.  Mark Cloud (‘05) and Jessica Robyn (Ford ‘13), are both alumni of Riversides’ CBU.

The Clouds anticipated there would be some interest in their book, but they may have underestimated the public’s excitement, “In just a few days we’ve come close to selling each of the 1,500 copies we ordered and need to place a reorder immediately,” said Mark.

The book is available for $10 at helloriversidebook.com. The Clouds hope to get their book into local retail outlets as well.