A Valleyfair Memory Comes Full Circle in Vera Ann Storm’s Carousel
Karla Jackson was introduced to Valleyfair in 1982 as a curious 4-year-old.
32 years later, she brought her own 4-year-old to Valleyfair, and with that, a book was born.
Karla Jackson, Author, Vera Ann Storm’s Carousel says, “The story is about someone named Vera Ann Storm and it’s based on inspiration from 1982 when I came here as a child, quite young and the carousel was one of the only rides I could go on, and when I first heard the music play, it reminded me of my Dad and playing the accordion, so I just naturally thought someone was inside there playing it.”
“It didn’t really occur to me until I brought my daughter back here in 2014 and heard the music again and when we went home that night, I wrote the story about Vera Ann Storm and the carousel where she lived inside, and she takes care of the horses at night.”
“These horses decide that they’re ready for something different, and so they spend their evenings at the arcade playing rock and roll music and Vera is first a little upset about that and then she has an ‘ah-ha’ moment and decides that all of the horses are going to get a makeover,” Jackson explains.
The book was completed with illustrations in May of 2026, and now Karla hopes her Valleyfair carousel memories can bring joy to the next generation.
Jackson says, “It’s really cool that the carousel was here when I was four, and it was here again when my daughter was four, and we’ve been going to Valleyfair for years and it’s really fun to share it with my kids and hopefully my grandkids one day.”
