About us
Meet the People Behind the Stories
Jackrabbit Punkin Publishing was built on family, purpose, and a shared belief in the lasting power of a good story.
Barbara J. Ratliff
Co-Founder • Author • Publisher • U.S. Navy Veteran
Authentic stories have the power to change lives.
Barbara J. Ratliff is co-founder of Jackrabbit Punkin Publishing LLC, an author, publisher, and United States Navy veteran whose work is rooted in service, storytelling, and the belief that lived experiences are worth preserving.
Military service
Barbara served 20 years in the United States Navy, where she learned that leadership extends far beyond rank or authority. Her experiences in uniform shaped her understanding of resilience, responsibility, sacrifice, and the importance of standing beside others during difficult seasons.
Those experiences became the foundation for Battles Beyond the Waves, her debut memoir. Through candid storytelling, Barbara shares not only the challenges she encountered during her military career, but also the faith, perseverance, and determination that carried her through them.
Publishing journey
For Barbara, publishing grew from a desire to do more than simply tell her own story. She wanted to create books that preserve memories, encourage readers, teach something meaningful, and give families and communities stories they can carry forward.
Together with her husband, Charles, she co-founded Jackrabbit Punkin Publishing LLC with a simple but lasting purpose: to publish stories with meaning and create books that endure beyond the final page.
Her growing body of work spans memoir, children's literature, history, community storytelling, and the development of literary worlds designed to educate, encourage, and connect generations.
Charles Ratliff
Co-Founder • U.S. Navy Veteran • Mentor
Service that extends beyond the uniform.
Charles Ratliff is co-founder of Jackrabbit Punkin Publishing LLC and a retired United States Navy veteran who served honorably for 24 years.
Throughout his military career, Charles devoted countless hours to helping Sailors under his leadership adjust to the demands of military life, often providing the personal guidance and counseling they needed to navigate challenges both in and outside the workplace.
His commitment to service also extended into the classroom. While their daughter was in elementary school, Charles regularly volunteered his time helping teachers with reading materials and supporting literacy efforts. Those experiences helped plant the seed for what would later become JPP's Read It Forward Program, an initiative built on the belief that books should reach the people and communities who can benefit from them.
At the center of Charles's life is his commitment to family. As co-founder of JPP, he brings that same steadiness to the company, supporting its mission, investing in its growth, and helping ensure that the vision behind the stories has the foundation it needs to move forward.
Why Jackrabbit Punkin?
The heart of the company began with family.
To family and longtime friends, Charles and Barbara Ratliff have always been known simply as Jackrabbit and Punkin. The nicknames became such a familiar part of their lives that, even today, some friends and family back home are more likely to recognize Jackrabbit and Punkin than Charles and Barbara.
When it came time to name their publishing company, the choice felt natural. Jackrabbit Punkin Publishing reflects who they are, where they come from, and the family and community connections they wanted the company to carry forward. The name is warm, memorable, and especially easy for young readers to recognize.
Even the company's colors tell part of their story. Blue, Charles's favorite color, represents Jackrabbit. Purple, Barbara's favorite color, represents Punkin. Together, the name and colors form a brand rooted in the lives of the two people who created it.
Publish books that educate, encourage, and endure.
At Jackrabbit Punkin Publishing, we believe meaningful stories deserve to be told and readers deserve books that speak to their experiences. Through purposeful publishing and community initiatives such as Read It Forward, JPP works to ensure that stories can reach beyond the page and into the communities they were created to serve.