But make no mistake, she is quite serious about the topic of composting.

It’s just that Roulston uses children’s literature to promote what she said she believes is an important aspect of waste management.

The Havelock, Ontario, resident is currently working on her fifth children’s book about composting and has spent the last 20 years trumpeting the cause.

Each book stars a worm named Pee Wee who helps teach children about the different aspects of composting.

“I love writing the story. It takes me over a year to write the story because I’ll nitpick it to death and then finally say, ‘OK, I think I’ll go with it.’ And then I’ll contact the printer.

“I wanted to be an independent publisher rather than have it done through somebody else because I wanted to have 100% control. I wanted 100% control on the content so they weren’t changing it to make it more glitzy and take away from composting. And I wanted it to be on 100% post-consumer stock,” she said.

“If somebody else had control they might be changing those decisions, and I don’t want to do that,” she said.

So the freelance writer funds production of each book, including hiring of an illustrator. “I suppose in the end I’ll break even or maybe make a little bit. I’m really not in it for the money, more for it to promote composting. That’s why I did it. It’s like my hobby to promote composting,” she said. “I don’t really look at the bottom line too much.”

Roulston first became interested in composting about 20 years ago as a volunteer with the Recycling Council of Ontario. She was involved in a composting puppet show for children and thought the topic would make a great children’s book.

At the time, she could only find fact sheets and other straight-forward information about composting and was looking for a way to connect with children.

Enter Pee Wee.

“In the book, I never refer to Pee Wee as male or female. It’s always the little red wiggler did this or that because, again, I want the facts about composting to be right. And then Pee Wee could apply to either a girl or a boy because worms are both sexes,” she explained. “The only license I took was giving the little worm eyes for expression. Other than that, everything else is accurate about composting,” she said.

Roulston’s first book, “Pee Wee and the Magical Compost Heap,” is about backyard composting, while her second book, “Pee Wee’s Great Adventure,” is about vermicomposting that uses worms.

Her third book, “Pee Wee’s Family in a Nutshell,” talks about the differences between backyard composting and vermicomposting. The fourth book, “Pee Wee goes to the Fair,” takes composting to an environmental science fair.

A fifth book, “Pee Wee’s Compost Tea Party,” is in the works. It will teach children about compost tea, or a liquid soil amendment created by suspending compost in water.

The books are available through Roulston’s Web site at www.castlecompost.com or through distributor Flowerfield Enterprises at www.wormwoman.com.

“It’s something the kids can get into right away. They love working with worms and earth, and it’s so easy to get into the habit at the beginning of their life of making compost,” Roulston said. “To throw all of this in the landfill, it’s like criminal to me.”

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