Rebecca Barrett from Castlerea is set to make her publishing debut with her children’s book ‘What Could My Pattern Be?’, inspired by wanting to share inclusivity and wanting people to be who they are without worry or fear.
This fantasy/adventure book is aimed primarily at children aged seven to nine.
The idea for this book came to Barrett after watching an episode of the US version of Queer Eye, where one of the hosts, Jonathan Van Ness, spoke about being non-binary and only learning about the language for it about ten years ago. The message for the book became clear straight away: wanting to help kids or adults who may be struggling with feeling different, but showing that everyone deserves the same love and kindness regardless of gender identity.
The story follows Asa, a young unicorn, who is different from their herd. While all other unicorns have stripes or polka dots (stripes represent boys and polka dots represent girls), Asa is the only one without a pattern. After an incident of bullying, which is quickly stopped by Asa’s family and friends, they (Asa) go on a journey to learn more about who they are. Along the way, they reunite with their aunt, and with her help, Asa learns about their identity and how supportive their family is.‘
Rebecca Barrett came to Castlerea in September of 2024 after her parents (an English mother and Irish father) moved from the UK in 2022 to start fresh and be somewhere more peaceful and slower paced. She describes this decision as one of the greatest she could’ve made for both her mental health and creativity.
During the pandemic of 2020, while still attending university remotely, Rebecca spent a lot of her time raising money for charitable causes close to her heart – such as Stonewall, Save Our Trees, and Cancer Research – through online gaming events. While she hasn’t done fundraising for a few years now, she hopes to keep supporting the people and causes she holds close.
“I hope this book can show to both parents and kids alike that we all deserve love and a supportive family”, she commented. “I also hope that it could maybe even help kids who feel like Asa, different but not able to explain it, and let them be comfortable with who they are.”
The book will be available on March 31st 2026, exclusively on Amazon. To keep up to date with the book and the author, head to beccabarrettie.wixsite.com/whatcouldmypatternbe or go to the book’s Facebook page at ‘What Could My Pattern Be?’.
