Kathy Miller has won another award for her second children's book "Chippy Chipmunk: Babies in the Garden."
The New Ringgold woman has now won 17 awards for the book.
The most recent award she won was the IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Awards) on June 4 in New York at Book Expo America, an annual trade show. Previously, she was awarded the Book of the Year award for 2012 from Creative Child Magazine (kids educational books category.)
This second book, which is about 40 pages, hit shelves in October 2011. It details the life of four baby chipmunks during a two-week period starting when they are six weeks old. It also includes fun facts at the end of the book.
"Babies don't come out until they are six weeks old," Miller said.
Even then, by the eighth week of life they are off to find their own homes, she said.
All four babies - Rosalie, Roosevelt, Rachel and Benjamin - are named after famous people who protected the environment, she said.
Miller is the author of another book, "Chippy Chipmunk: Parties in the Garden," which won 15 awards. It was released in September 2009.
"Chippy Chipmunk: Babies in the Garden" took about a year until it saw print. Writing it took about four to six months, she said. Rob Mull, owner of Rob Mull Advertising and Design, Pottsville, designed the layout of the book.
Miller said the book came about because Chippy became a daddy. Lily is the mom and the babies live in her yard with the parents nearby, she said.
Miller said Lily even proudly showed her family to her.
"She actually brought them to show me. I was standing in the window looking out and she was looking right at me," Miller said.
Chipmunks are trusting animals, she said. However, if you see one, you should not touch them or try to pick them up. Home is likely not far away. They can live 12 or 13 years, she said, but due to predators a short life span is their curse, sometimes living only two or three years.
Miller said probably the most interesting thing she learned was "how little we know about the creatures that we see."
The 50-year-old said she would like to do another book.
"I always have my eyes open and my mind churning for another book," she said Friday.
Miller will visit the Tremont Public Library at 1 p.m. July 18 and the Ashland Public Library at 10 a.m. July 27 for her nature program.
To learn more about Miller or her books, visit www.chippychipmunk.com.