DANVILLE — A book written by Bryant “Charlie” Buck has survived its most stringent test … his grandchildren love it.

Buck, formerly of Danville, is confident other children also will enjoy “My First Christian ABC Book.”

Buck, who now lives in Freeport, will be in Danville on Friday to sign copies at 5 Loaves & 2 Fish Book Cottage. The bookstore will have several copies of the book on hand.

“The feedback from parents is pretty good,” he said in a telephone interview, and his four grandchildren liked it. The book is geared to ages 5 and under.

As a teenager, Buck moved to Danville with his family in 1960, and he graduated from Danville High School in 1964. He left Danville when he enrolled in Northern Illinois University.

His mother was Lorraine Cooney Buck, a reporter for the Commercial-News in the late 1960s and early ’70s. She died in 2006.

Buck also has two younger sisters who graduated from DHS, Patricia (Buck) Crocker, class of 1967, and Gretchen (Buck) Williams, class of 1971.

During his 33-year career as an insurance salesman, Buck spent his free time writing. He helped edit a church paper in the early ’70s and put out a small inter-church magazine in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

In 2001, he wrote a biography of a handicapped person in his church who had an amazing prayer life. He self-published “The Prayer Warrior” in 2007.

While he was pleased with that book, he still wanted to write a book that would be accepted by a regular publisher. Finally, he realized he had to find a niche that other writers had overlooked.

One day, he came up with the idea of writing a Christian ABC book for preschoolers, and discovered there were only two other similar books in print. One of those books, geared to ages 4-8, had 10 lines of verse per page. He knew from experience that young children didn’t have patience to sit through that many lines per page.

In May 2008, he wrote the first draft for “My First Christian ABC Book,” and tried unsuccessfully to find a Christian agent to represent his book. In early 2009, he began writing directly to publishers, and got a positive response from Evergreen Press.

“The publisher recognized I’d caught a niche no one else had,” he said.

With photos supplied by the publisher, his book went to press in June 2009 and was released to bookstores last November.

In April, Family Christian Stores — the largest chain of Christian bookstores in the United States — decided to carry his book.

The 32-page hardcover devotes each page to a letter of the alphabet, accompanied by photos that kids can relate to. Every two entries rhyme, he said.

For example: “A is for ask when we request from above. B is for Bible, God’s Word written in love.”

Buck describes himself as a dedicated Christian who wants to see children get as much religious education as they can before they enter school. The public school system doesn’t offer that, he said.

Buck said his conversion to Christ came in December 1963, when he went with some friends to a youth meeting at First Baptist Church in Danville. He continued his religious life in college and has remained active in small charismatic churches with his wife, Emily, throughout their adult lives.

As for his book, he said, “It’s a lifetime accomplishment — to finally reach the goal where you have a book accepted by a regular publisher.”

He now has plans to put together another Christian children’s book.

COMING UP

Bryant “Charlie” Buck of Freeport, formerly of Danville, will sign copies of his book, “My First Christian ABC Book,” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at 5 Loaves & 2 Fish Book Cottage, 717 N. Gilbert St.

The book can be ordered on http://www.amazon.com or through any bookstore.