This is the cover of Michael Crain’s children’s book, “Babbott and Babboo.”

Babbott and Babboo swing from tree to tree without a care – laughing and laughing.

“It’s their forte,” Michael Crain said. “They start and can’t stop, and every time they get going, the other animals in the jungle shut them down.”

Crain, a Glasgow native, has penned many stories before. This time, however, his story made it to a national children’s book publisher, Tate Publishing. The local author’s book, “Babbott and Babboo,” is now available nationwide and can be ordered through the publisher’s Web site, Barnes & Noble’s Web site or Amazon.com.

The 24-page book follows the adventures of the two monkeys who try to stay out of trouble. But they often have a hard time avoiding misadventure. What happens when a snake’s tail is mistaken for a nice, big banana?

“Babbott and Babboo is about a couple of monkeys that have been friends for a long time,” he said. “And in the jungle, they have a lot of misadventures.”

Crain, raised on a tenant farm in Barren County with 10 siblings, spun countless characters and adventures in his young mind.

“Everything was work, work, work,” he said, describing his upbringing. “When I had time, I would write and draw.”

Crain said he used writing as an escape – a way to get his mind off everyday life. He said he would could come up with little stories and drawings to compliment them.

A veteran of the Army and a martial arts instructor in Glasgow, Crain said he has studied the art of writing. He said he loves to write different styles – noting that each genre is an art of its own.

“It all goes hand in hand,” he said.

And Crain said he has written a lot – from short stories to poetry, which he said is “the short way of expressing yourself.” But, he said, he’s always written for the child audience.

With this story, Crain said the names came to him first as it started as a jungle tale. The rest of the story fell into place, he said.

“It just kind of showed up,” he said.

Crain said he is talking with the publishing company in hopes of turning the book into a series about morals using the colorful characters he comes up with. He said as the characters grow, they’ll have more depth to them, while still being “fun-loving and full of adventure.”

This particular book, he said, is about friendship, a timely subject, Crain said.

“As a whole,” he said, “we could all use a little friendship.”