For a Lansdale father-and-son author duo, their first children’s book spent a while warming up in the bullpen.
Mark Bryson was the head coach for Major League Baseball at the All-Star FanFest Diamond for 20 years beginning in 1996. During those years, he met hundreds of players who were in the All Star game or had retired, who shared anecdotes about their lives.
"I decided to take a lot of those stories, a lot of those great quotes and a lot of those players, and actually put them into a children's story,” Mark said.
The baseball bug book, titled
The Gnatural and co-authored by Mark and his son Ryan, follows the story of the smallest bug with the strongest arm and biggest dreams of playing Major League Bugball with his bug buddy, Bryce Hopper. Released on April 4, the book features "Hall of Fame” characters Orlando Cicada, Sandflea Koufax, Harmon Killerbee and Ken Grifflea Jr., as well as local legends like Mite Schmidt and Bug McGraw.
On Aug. 26 at 2 p.m., the two will be at a book reading and signing event at the North Wales Barnes and Noble. They will also be answering questions, asking baseball trivia, playing games and giving away Big League Chew, baseball cards and other prizes. Attendees can wear their favorite Phillies tee or MLB jersey.
"We really want it to be something special and something we could really duplicate in other Barnes and Nobles in the Delaware Valley, especially with all the Phillies excitement,” Mark said.
Since the book was released, Mark and Ryan have done
book readings at schools and libraries in Lansdale. Kids at the readings often give them new ideas for character names and offer their take on the ending for
The Gnatural, Mark said.
The Gnatural highlights a few of the many stories and life lessons from athletes Mark has worked with throughout his career. Mark and Ryan are working on publishing five more
children’s sports stories about basketball, hockey, football, soccer and NASCAR in near future. They also hope to create reading programs with Barnes and Noble for kids, as well as have retired players come in and be a part of special events.
Mark, a Lansdale resident of 25 years, has six children who attended Lansdale Play and Learn, York Avenue Elementary, Penndale Middle School and North Penn High School. His kids have played for the Cannoneers, Lansdale Little League, Lansdale Parks & Recreation Tee Ball, North Penn Valley Girls Softball, the Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, TYA soccer, and Nor Gwyn Softball.
In addition to his work with the MLB, Mark has worked as the Zone Manager at NBA Jam Session and the NCAA Final Four, Head Coach at NHL Fantasy, as a Coordinator at the NHL Winter Classic and Board Member for International Baseball Federation. Mark and Ryan have also volunteered and run clinics for Lansdale tee ball, Lansdale Little League, North Penn Little League, North Penn Valley Girls Softball and All-Star Sluggers.
Ryan, who has lived in Lansdale for most of his life, graduated from Full Sail University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in creative writing and is currently writing the screenplay for
The Gnatural.
One of the biggest messages in
The Gnatural is to read books, play ball, and dream big, said Mark. The two hope to continue passing important messages and life lessons to kids through their series of sports books.
"This was a big dream for us, and we've seen it come true, but now we want to see all of our books come out and inspire kids,” Mark said.
For updates on upcoming stories, book readings and special events, follow
The Gnatural on Facebook and
TikTok and
check out their website. The book is available to purchase on
Amazon and
BarnesandNoble.com.
