If you saw our post last week, you know that we’ve just released our newest book “From Marvin to Mittens: Adventures of a Baby Alpaca” an original storybook and accompanying coloring book hand-illustrated and written by Jacqueline Bance.

“From Marvin to Mittens” is a children’s book about a curious baby alpaca named Marvin who likes to learn about the other animals and activities on the farm. The story is based on a real-life alpaca who lives on Jacqueline’s farm. Here’s the real story of Marvin:

As with many things in life, the real story of Marvin the Baby Alpaca and how Marvin came to live on our farm contains a few twists and turns. My desire to raise animals that produce natural fiber for spinning began when I lived in the city and developed a deep enthusiasm for yarn. 

I dreamt of moving to the country and raising fiber goats so I could harvest their luxurious mohair or cashmere fibers and spin it into beautiful yarn. You may have learned from a previous post how my dream of living in the country came to be a few years ago.

Not long after we moved, my husband had lunch with a long-time friend who mentioned that his wife had some alpacas she was looking to relocate. They were downsizing and she needed to find a new home for them. 

When my husband returned home and shared this with me, I was curious and began researching them. I didn’t know much about alpacas but soon learned they are considered one of the finest fiber-producing animals. They also have a sweet, gentle nature and require little care.

A few months later, we decided to visit the alpacas just to check them out. A two-year-old fawn-colored female met me at the fence with the biggest eyes and sweetest personality. I was immediately in awe. From previous visits to animal shelters resulting in us bringing home a new pet, my husband knew my reaction meant we would soon be alpaca farmers.

Before long, Marvin and his mom, Mocha, along with Molly and her mom, Maggie, joined our farm family along with the goats and chickens. 

Marvin was 4 months old when he came to live with us two years ago. His childish antics have provided much entertainment since the day he arrived. He is the first to find a gap in the fence, but once outside the fence, he lingers, never getting far from his mom. 

When visitors come to the farm, Marvin is the first to run up to greet them. His curious nature allows him to keep a close eye on whatever is happening. He loves to chase the chickens through the pasture and neck-wrestle with his buddy, Phaethon (pronounced ‘fay-uh-thon’), who came to live with us a year ago.

Marvin has escaped his fence several times but he has never really spent a night in the woods, like it says in the story. We do hear the howling of coyotes at night on a regular basis and there have been several bear sightings on our property, but I’ve never personally encountered one.

Since Marvin and his family joined our farm, we have added three more alpacas to the herd. All seven alpacas are sheared once a year in the spring. Their soft fleece coats help them stay nice and warm through the winter, but are much too warm for them to wear through the heat of the summer. 

They dislike being sheared, but they love the light, cool feeling afterward, and Marvin really does “spring” around the pasture when he’s all done. In special alpaca terms, this is called “pronking” and it’s pretty entertaining to watch.

So, that’s the real story of Marvin and how he and his alpaca family came to live on our farm. We hope you enjoy our book and coloring book “From Marvin to Mittens: Adventures of a Baby Alpaca” and getting to know a little more about the real-life Marvin. 

If you have any questions about Marvin or the alpacas, let us know on social media or send us a note. We’d love to hear from you and we’ll be sharing videos and pictures of Marvin and his farm friends in more posts.

Be sure to stay tuned as we share more Adventures on Grandma’s Farm with Marvin and the other animals, and sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss an update! See you next time!