"Toyville is a happy town. Mr. Nightingale's (aka Brad Countryman in real life) Toy Factory makes colorful yo-yos and his workers love their jobs. But one spring day a storm sends an enormous flood through the town. Toymaker Mike watches in despair as the waters carry away his factory and his yo-yo store! Join the folks of Toyville as they learn a valuable lesson in choosing the gift of hope over worry."
A 20 page children's soft cover book printed by Peppertree Press in March, 2016. Written by Judith Frank Pearson and illustrated by Toni Wilson. ISBN: 1614934266
The story is loosely based on actual events that took place on the evening of June 23, 1989, at the Hummingbird Toy Company in Arcade, Wyoming County, New York. Three and half inches of rain fell and more than 70,000 partly assembled yo-yos were carried away by flood waters that gushed through the ground floor of the plant. Brad Countryman later remarked, "It's incredible. Yo-yos will be floating down the Cattaraugus Creek into Lake Erie for the next month."
