Lynndi Lockenour
What began as a bedtime story to his four-year old daughter one night has become a real-life fairy tale for St. Charles native, Thomas A. “Tommy” Mattingly. On Saturday, August 6, 2005, Tommy (whose pen name is Mathew S. Field) will be at Main Street Books in St. Charles to talk about and sign his first children’s book, Father Like A tree.
The past year has been a roller coaster for Tommy and his family. In February 2004 Tommy lost his management position to “corporate downsizing.” In April of that year his wife of 12 years, Lori Lombardo Mattingly, a graduate of the Sacred Heart Academy and Duchesne High School who was six-months pregnant with the couple’s third child, was diagnosed with cancer. Despite the illness, the couple’s child was born in June in perfect health. However, in February of this year while the book was in its final stages of production, Lori passed away from complications related to the disease.
Tommy quite his job in the beginning stages of Lori’s illness so he could stay at home with his two daughters. The oldest, Jordan is eight years old and Katie is five. “I wanted to be with my family,” he said. “As a parent I wrote Father Like A Tree for other parents to read to their children.” Tommy said everyone will take something away from the book, even the adults. “The book is special on many levels,” he said.
On a spring day, as the story goes, a beautiful bird lands on the branch of a tree and decides to make it her home. She builds her nest and lays her eggs there. Eventually, the beautiful bird hears the sound pecking from inside the eggs. Three perfect and beautiful baby birds emerge into the world of leaves and branches. As the baby birds grow, the beautiful bird reveals important lessons about life, love, family and relationships. “There comes a point where readers realize the story is about more than they thought,” he said.
The idea for the story began one night when Tommy youngest daughter Katie asked him to make up a story to tell her before bedtime. The result was the basic story for Father Like a Tree. After telling the story to his other daughter Jordan, who also loved it, Tommy thought he might be onto something. A volunteer story reader at his daughter’s school, Tommy decided to test the story on the children. “They loved it,” he said. “That’s when I knew it was more than just a bed-time story.”
The book was released on June 19, which is a significant day for Tommy and his family. “That’s the day my son tuned one,” he said. Father Like a Tree was illustrated by watercolor artist, Tom Hedderich, who like Tommy, is also new to the business of children’s books. Tommy said the feedback he received from the children was amazing. “The reaction of the kids to my story was very gratifying,” he said. “They were just hanging on every last word anticipating the next thing.”
Though he graduated with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Missouri, Tommy said he has been telling stories for years. Previously to becoming a published author, Tommy wrote business articles and kept records of his life. Tommy’s parents, Tom and Lucy Mattingly recall the “Brush With Fame” emails Tommy sent to family members periodically. “They always made us laugh,” Tom said.
Both Tom and Lucy are extremely proud of their son. “I’m most proud that he took up writing to be a stay-at-home dad,” Tom said. “It amazes me that he has the ability to move from the professional business world where he was to writing children’s books. Lucy is still in shock over the entire thing. “The emotions are too new for me,” she said. “Up until now it was all talk, but when we received those books in the mail, it was so exciting.”
Tommy Mattingly, a.k.a. Mathew S. Field, will be at Main Street Books at 621 South Main in St. Charles from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 6. For more information about Father Like A Tree, visit www.FatherLikeATree.com or www.MainStreetBooks.net.
