Over the years Tiny the tree frog has gone sailing, travelled back in time and toured Bermuda but he has yet to experience one of the Island’s great traditions — Cup Match.Author Elizabeth Mulderig penned a homage to the vibrant sporting and cultural event under the name Betsy Bermuda.In ‘Tiny’s Bermudaful Cup Match’ the green guy eats delicacies like homemade mussel, cassava and loquat pies, watches the cricket game unfold and supports the Gombeys during half-time.One thing he doesn’t do is pick sides when it comes to backing rival cricket teams Somerset or St George’s.Ms Mulderig said: “It was important to me to have a completely neutral animal because I am a middle child and being fair is very important to me as it is to most middle children.“My favourite sentence growing up was ‘that’s not fair, mommy that is not fair’ and I wanted Tiny to have that same quality.”She said future books would be centred around other holidays, such as Good Friday and May 24. In part because her “literary mandate” is to make Bermudian children proud of their heritage, beautiful Island and the fact they are reading.“My main interest in doing the books is to make children on the Island aware of how special the place Bermuda is that the live in, and one of the ways of doing that is celebrating our traditions.“I noticed there wasn’t anything out there for young children about Cup Match and Kite Day [Good Friday] so I figured I would start with those.”This particular book starts as Tiny the tree frog is awoken by the sound of ‘the voice of summer’ Jim Woolridge. The first illustration shows him asleep in a tree next to the announcer, with words that read: ‘Tiny, Tiny, what a bummer! Did you miss the voice of summer?’.Ms Mulderig said the book is filled with lots of local humour, including colloquialisms like ‘donkey’s years’ and ‘ace boys’. There are also footnotes to help foreign readers follow along with the text.The author said she tried to infuse as much colour into the book as possible; and most enjoyed creating the illustrations.“At one point [in the book] Tiny dances with the Gombeys at half-time, in full regalia,” she said. “He can be found eating mussel pie and drinking ginger beer or riding the crown and anchor dice.“He [also] cheers both teams on with a blue and blue flag in one hand and a red and blue flag in the other — all’s fair in Tiny’s world.”Ms Mulderig has written 15 books over the past two decades. She was on the track to becoming a professional ballerina, but switched to study English literature at the Art Student League in New York.She said one of the most challenging parts of the writing process was editing the material. “I want to hold on to every single word I put down,” she explained.This time around she worked with a new editor, Bermuda High School teacher Linda Durner.The editor encouraged her to keep sentences short and concise and gave her a list of 100 words children use most, so she could make reading easier for her target audience.Ms Mulderig also decided to use local publishers Island Bermuda for a second time. She said during her book signings at Harbour Nights, tourists used to ask her if her books were made in Bermuda.She said “it got embarrassing” explaining to people the books were produced in China. The author admitted she was proud to have a “purely Bermudian piece of work”.The book is dedicated to well known cricketer Ralph (Brownie) Steede, who taught her the basic rules of the sport when she was young.The writer will be on hand at Harbour Nights from 6.30pm until 8pm to sign copies of the book. Books may also be available at Somerset Cricket Club during the Cup Match holiday.The book costs $13 and can be purchased at Bermuda Book Store, Brown and Co, The Irish Linen Shop, Cooper’s and Bermuda Craft Market.Useful website: www.betsybermuda.com.