'LITTLE OX' MAKES OXFORD COLOURFUL FOR CHILDREN New Publishing Business Raises Money For Abandoned Children

November 2006 – Oxford resident, Kelli Terrington, creates a new children’s book character ‘Little Ox’ who tours his namesake town, Oxford, and visits famous sights.

Mrs. Terrington launched Ox & Cross Publishing in July 2006 to raise funds for orphaned and abandoned children. The company is producing books and related merchandise about Oxford specifically for children.

Ox & Cross Publishing’s first title is the Oxford Colouring Book. The book features ‘Little Ox’ as he tours Oxford’s famous sights and meets some of its famous residents, including Alice, the Oxford dodo and Oxford’s own dinosaur, the Megalosaurus. It is available in bookshops, museums and retail outlets in Oxford. Upcoming titles include other children’s activity, picture and reading books set in Oxford.

The inspiration for the books derived from Mrs. Terrington’s experiences raising her children in Oxford. “When I first moved to Oxford I read about the city’s history and began to think about how to share its rich heritage with my son and daughter,” she says. “The character ‘Little Ox’ will create some fun and teach children about Oxford.”

The proceeds from the Oxford Colouring Book go to Christian Action and The Gap Foundation, two Hong Kong-based charities working in China. Christian Action works in China’s far northwest, in Qinghai Province, caring for more than 100 children. The Gap Foundation operates in China’s northeast, near the border with North Korea, with a smaller group of 10 children. Mrs. Terrington has visited both children’s homes and has been a donor and volunteer for both charities over the past seven years. “Ox & Cross will only support charities known first-hand by its directors, so that we can understand the needs of the children better and how we might be able to help” says Mrs. Terrington.

Mrs. Terrington is originally from America, spent seven years working in Hong Kong, and now lives in Oxford with her English husband and young children.

The Oxford Colouring Book is available for £3.99 at Alice’s Shop, Blackwell’s, Borders, The Book House (Summertown), QI Bookshop, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Campus Stores, Oxford Castle, the Bodleian Library and Oxford Tourist Information Centre or directly from Ox & Cross Publishing at www.oxandcross.com.
Notes to Editors

Pictures of the Oxford Colouring Book and ‘Little Ox’ are available. Pictures of children in China supported by the proceeds from the book are also available.

Ox & Cross Publishing launched in July 2006.

The Oxford-based company produces books and related merchandise for children visiting or living in Oxford.

The company only supports organisations of which it has first-hand knowledge.

Ox & Cross will also be launching merchandise based on the main character from the Oxford Colouring Book, ‘Little Ox’, before Christmas, including postcards, posters and t-shirts.

Managing Director, Kelli Terrington, has been supporting charities working with orphaned and abandoned children in China for seven years. She is an American, married with two young children, who has made Britain her permanent home.

To find out more about the charities Ox & Cross Publishing supports, visit www.oxandcross.com