Karen Primm was listening to her 4-year-old grandson Marco chatter away in the backseat of her car when she realized he was constructing a fairly involved story narrative two days in a row.

“It was the story of these four rat friends who go to the beach together,” said Primm, a Smithton resident. “I thought maybe his sister could get involved, and so their dad started illustrating it and Sophia started coloring it.”

Pretty soon, the family had produced “Rat Friends Go to the Beach,” which now is on sale as a benefit for the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation.

“Marco always talks about wanting to help kids, so we were trying to think of ways for him to do that,” said his mother Amy Wentzel, of Hempfield.

Her husband Ben has raised money previously for the foundation via a bicycle ride.

“You sign up on the website saying you want to start a campaign, and they give you a link for your page,” he said.

The family self-published about 35 copies of the book at Staples. It is available in exchange for donations of any amount made on the “Friends of the Rat Friends” page at GiveToChildrens.org.

Between copies sold online and those sold in person, the Wentzels had raised about $670 as of early June.

Sophia, 6, also had the idea to make the book interactive, including a coloring page in the back.

“We want to give some copies to the hospital as well,” Ben said.

For his part, Marco had a simple reason for creating the book.

“Nobody thought of it, so I did, and I wanted to make it,” he said with a smile.

See GiveToChildrens.org/ratfriends for more, or to donate and order a copy of the book.

The foundation raises money for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to “support the hospital’s mission of improving the health and well-being of children, teenagers, and young adults through excellence in patient care, teaching, research and advocacy,” according to its website.

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