DAPHNE, Ala. — A group of Baldwin County women, saddened by the oil spill, wondered what they could do. They talked it over while working at an area store.

“We had all sorts of plans, said Ilene Baskette. “We knew we really couldn’t do the cleanup, but we had lots and lots of other ideas.”

Unfortunately, none of them seemed, well, practical.

Then, Karen Thomason had an idea. Why not write a book, or a series of books to explain the spill to youngsters? They were seeing for themselves that the youngest children were scared and confused.

“They were seeing things on the news and their parents were worried, but did not know why” said Thomason, a former middle-school teacher.

Thomason says the concept behind the series of books, “Boat House Buddies,” “Came to me in a dream.” She started talking it over with her workplace friends, Baskette, Melanie Houseknecht and Elva Simpson. The women started adding to the plan, vetting character names and going over the concept.

Baskette brought aboard her childhood friend, illustrator Cindy Allen, who lives in New Jersey.

The idea of the series is that youngsters can do things, ranging from driving an electric four-wheel vehicle to bringing supplies to cleanup crews to having an art sale to raise money for organizations that help with restoring the Gulf.

And some of their own lives made it into the book, Thomason noted. The dogs that pop up in the illustrations are based on Baskette’s dogs Casey and Jaques Pierre; and Aunt Lillian, Gus and Katie are based on the women’s family members.

Both women noted that the books are dedicated to the men who lost their lives in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and proceeds from each book is given in their memory to a different organization that helps with the recovery.

While dealing with the oil spill, Baskette and Thomason both noted that the “Boat House Buddies” have lessons beyond the Gulf.

“Life has problems,” said Baskette. “You have to go solve them. Think of others first and it’s always better with a buddy.”

“This is a useful tool for children everywhere,” Thomason said.

The books are going international as well. Baskette says a shipment are slated to head to Italy, and there has been an order from Germany.

The books were planned out as a series, but take time because getting the illustrations right is important.

“She (Allen) uses watercolors,” said Baskette. “Each one is original, and if one little thing is wrong, she wants to start over.”

Both women say they could not have completed, or even begun the project, without Stan Stokes of Eagle Printing in Bay Minette.

“He has spent an unbelievable amount of time with us,” said Baskette.

As of this writing, Baskette says the last books in the series are in the publication process, and all are available at the Foley Art Center Gift Shop, 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center Gift Shop, Shoefly, Exploreum Gift Shop and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Gift Shop.

“Call any of us, and we’ll sell them from the backs of our cars,” laughed Baskette.