Milton Keynes nan publishes magical adventure book of tales she told to her grandchildren

A disabled gran of five has turned the stories she and her husband told their grandchildren into a delightful book.

Linda Broom, 67, and her late husband David made up a mystical creature called Gibiloe, pronounced jib-i-low, to entertain their grandchildren when they were small.

"It was whilst we went for walks in the nearby woods that the fairy tale began and ‘Grandpa Broomsticks’ would often shout out; “Watch out for the Gibiloes! Look, there they are - high in the trees!'

"We would stop dead in our tracks, our eyes like saucers, mouths wide open and we would gaze up into the trees hoping to see one. He told us that they hide in the trees and bushes and, like chameleons, can change colour to camouflage with their surroundings. Sometimes, when children aren’t looking, the brave, mischievous ones might even swoop down and pinch their noses.

"Every time we went out we would scream with excitement and expectation; “Watch out for the Gibiloes! Watch out for the Gibiloes!”

At the same time, Linda, a former registered nurse who uses a wheelchair due to complex health conditions, began to get the writing bug while playing with her grandchildren, James, Anna, Beth, Alice and Imogen

"I loved spending as much time as possible with them and we began our first book together years ago. Each time they came to stay, out would come our arts and crafty things and we began to write down all the things I used to say to them in ‘our book’.

"It was made up of loose A4 pages and to that we added our own little stick men pictures. Five grandchildren later, I took the crumpled pages out from the back of my drawer and sat down to put it all in print for them."

Linda self published 'Granny Says' and then moved on to her next project - a book about the Gibiloes. The book, Journey to Gibiloe Island, is available on Amazon here.

Sadly, Linda's husband died three years ago and the book is in his memory.

"I struggled with serious health issues that began over 40 years ago and, despite ongoing chronic poor health and episodes of acute health, still continue to be productive," she said.

"Journey to Gibiloe Island a children's magical, spiritual, fun and full of adventure book about enlightened, beautiful creatures," said Linda.

The Gibiloes themselves are so gorgeous that Linda decided they should be represented in a toy.

"I decided to have Custom Toys UK create a soft toy to go with the book too," she said.

Now Linda is offering a chance for children to win a copy of the book or a Gibiloe toy.

"I’m running a competition at the moment for children aged four to 14 years to draw and colour a Gibiloe (pronounced jib-i-low) and send their pictures to,[email protected].

The winners will be chosen at end of competition, which is February 28.