The first time the Marblehead author wrote a children’s book teaching tolerance

When COVID first hit, busy mom and surgeon Rebecca Kwait found herself with a bit of downtime — but she didn’t spend it binging Netflix or baking sourdough.

“The surgeries have stopped and we were doing virtual visits from home,” said Kwait, who lives in Marblehead. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be so fun to write and illustrate a children’s book?'”

Kwait enjoyed painting and drawing growing up in Trinidad and enjoys reading to her own children, aged 5 and 7.

“One random weeknight I started writing and for some reason a frog came to mind. Amazingly the story rhymed and I kept going.

Kwait basically finished the story that night, then spent a year creating the book’s 32 watercolor and pen illustrations.

When surgeries started again and Kwait had to travel to his hospital in Exeter, New Hampshire, it became more difficult to find time to work on the project. But she didn’t give up.

“I was able to put together the spare minutes in increments,” she said. “Once I wrote the story, I was so excited and it really became such a priority for my free time because I really wanted to see it come to life.”

The finished product, “The Frog from the Bog”, was released two months ago.

Samson’s Story

The main character, Samson the frog, doesn’t like living in his bog and wants to explore a nearby farm. His frog friends warn him that he won’t be accepted, but he gathers his courage and leaves anyway.

“The message of the book is about acceptance — not judging people by their looks, giving people a chance,” Kwait said.

What inspired her to write about tolerance? “Everything that happened last year in America,” Kwait said. “There was so much hate going around with the rise of COVID and the Trump movement targeting different groups.”

Support breast cancer research

“The Frog from the Bog” is available on Amazon.com and at the Marblehead Arts Association in the King Hooper Mansion. Kwait plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. She now works at Massachusetts General North in Danvers and Salem Hospital.

“As a breast cancer surgeon, I look after women with breast cancer and see how difficult it is to get through it,” Kwait said. She wants to support the search for less aggressive treatments that offer patients a better quality of life.