Little Forest Hills author inspired by wildlife

From Staff Reports

Eight years after first announcing that he intended to write a story inspired by his beloved rabbit Wascal, Little Forest Hills resident Jarvis Young has finally brought that promise to life with the publication of “WASCAL AND OPIE: A Tale of Possumabilities,” an illustrated children’s chapter book for young readers — and, as Young discovered, quite a few not-so-young readers as well.

The story grew from animals that were very real parts of Young’s life in East Dallas.

Wascal was Young’s disabled rabbit, whose physical differences never seemed to diminish her determination or personality. 

In the book, Wascal is an angel from a place called Nevaeh, sent to help a child named Miracle Joy. Upon her arrival, she comes in the form of a rabbit, and her angel wings have become partially disabled legs. 

After becoming separated from the child, Wascal meets Opie, an opossum who helps her on the journey home and who lives by a wonderfully imperfect philosophy, “Every and all things are possumable.”

Opie, too, has roots in Young’s East Dallas life. The character was inspired by one of the opossums that visited his backyard. Young’s interest in local wildlife has also led to his involvement as a volunteer with the North Texas Wildlife Center.

Although Wascal and Opie is written for younger readers, its themes of friendship, kindness, courage, accepting differences and discovering one’s own worth have also resonated with adult readers.

The book’s publication completes a journey Young publicly committed himself to eight years ago. In a Facebook post on September 3, 2018, he wrote that he was working on his “Wascal book” and acknowledged that bringing it to fruition would take time. In a comment beneath that post, Young added:

“Whether or not it will be published or read … it will be written.”

Eight years later, it has been both published and read.

Since its August 2026 release, Wascal and Opie has found readers both locally and beyond Dallas, and Young is now exploring local readings, book signings, wildlife-related events and other opportunities to introduce Wascal and Opie to new readers.

For Young, however, the project began not as a business venture but as a way of preserving the memory of an extraordinary little rabbit and telling a story he felt needed to be told.

“WASCAL AND OPIE: A Tale of Possumabilities” is available through Amazon. Young is also available for interviews, readings, book signings and local community appearances.