Children’s book ‘A Tall Tale’ is part of author’s ‘long’ collection dedicated to daughter

Have you ever wondered how ostriches got their long necks?

All will be explained in the children’s book “A Tall Tale: How the Ostriches Got Their Long Necks and Long Legs,” written by Scott Sollers, part of a collection that is a love letter to his daughter.

Sollers is a Spokane native who resides in San Mateo, California.

He attended St. John Vianney Catholic School and then Gonzaga Prep for his freshmen and sophomore years.

Now, Sollers is an investment banker, dedicated golfer and leader of a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that helps disadvantaged children.

Still, Sollers has never forgotten his Spokane roots.

“We were up and out at sun up and we played all day in the valley outdoors,” Sollers said of his childhood in Spokane. “A very wholesome, full, active upbringing.”

Sollers read at least a dozen books each summer.

“And it stimulated my imagination,” Sollers said. “It took me to places that were magical and you can just, you know, wallow in those environments. And so from the age of 8 or 9 years old, you know, I had a pretty rich imagination. And I think that’s what gave me the background to be able to make these stories.”

“A Tall Tale” is one in a collection of 13 children’s books called “Stephanie’s Stories.” He came up with these stories decades ago as a special way to bond with his daughter.

Stephanie Sollers, now an adult, remembers “he started with the stories on a single piece of paper – almost blocking it out like a cartoon.”

“I was excited to go to bed, because I was learning about this new world and he just kept creating these new narratives,” she said.

What Stephanie loved most about the stories was that “the stories that he was telling created a magical moment where I was excited to go to bed because I was learning about this new world and he just kept creating these new narratives.”

Scott Sollers still has the original versions of “Stephanie’s Stories,” which he plans on giving to his daughter as an heirloom in a few years.

For now, she will be reading the published editions to her 3-year-old son, continuing the legacy.

“These stories originated 30 years ago, and now that they’re getting published, there’s an opportunity not just for our kids to experience these stories, but for other families to experience these stories and for them to continue to live on,” Stephanie Sollers said.

Scott Sollers has several books in the works, the next being “Lake Omigosh.” He hopes to eventually publish all 13 stories in the collection.

In “A Tall Tale,” there are two rival communities living in valleys separated by a ridge. The Have-Alls, as the name implies, have it all. They live happily in a lush valley with an abundance of fruits, vegetables, streams and their beloved porcupine-looking pets: the squatz. On the other side of the ridge are the have-nots who live in a barren desert land with very little water and vegetation.

The have-nots sometimes longingly look over the ridge at the thriving community of the Have-Alls – just wishing they could have a fraction of their fortune.

One day the Have-Nots hatch a plan to steal the squatz, but it doesn’t go the way that they planned. The outcome will change the future of the communities – and the squatz.

“A Tall Tale” is illustrated by Alejandro Echavez and published by Mascot Books. A portion of book sales go to benefit the Leanne B. Roberts African Savanna habitat at the San Francisco Zoo.

“A Tall Tale: How the Ostriches Got Their Long Necks and Long Legs,” will go on sale Tuesday on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.