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Yes, my hair and eyes really do look like that.
Happy cozy reading, friends!If you're a fellow bibliophile who has endorphin zings when viewing art, being in nature, or reading |
 "Keep your hopes up," one of my favorite gospel teachers, David Butler, said on his Don't Miss This! Youtube show recently, along with darling co-host Emily Belle Freeman. Dave went on to share what the label sewn inside his favorite pair of church pants says: "Make no little plans that have no magic to stir men's[and women's] blood. And probably will not themselves be realized. Make BIG plans, aim high in hope and in work." Bet you never thought you'd hear a pair of church pants being quoted. Now you have. Back to making no little plans that have no magic to stir men and women's souls...I've committed to a small group of three other writer friends to pump out 1,000 words a day until Christmas. This means I'll be writing every week day(!) working on my book again! Yeehah! (It's been too long...) I can't express how thrilling this prospect is--to carve out at least an hour a day to build on paper the story world within my mind and heart. All with the hopes of stirring a bookworm's blood--your blood. If you'll give me the chance someday? So over the next few weeks I'll be finishing the outline of my book, then jumping into the second draft of my manuscript to find out if it matches up with the plot events I've been carrying around in my head these past fourteen years. Basically, do the words I've already written down actually say what I think they do? In the meantime, here are six super exciting books for us all to enjoy...starting with Sophie Blackall's newest release coming out TODAY! Without further adieu, on to the happy book review... 1) Farmhouse Written and Illustrated by Sophie Blackall (RELEASE DATE: September 13, 2022!)  EEK! People, I have waited ALL YEAR LONG for this glowing slice of sunshine pie to find its way onto my family's reading plate. If any of the rest of you are following the creation of this book, you'll know that two-time Caldecott Medalist, Sophie Blackall, first came across the actual "farmhouse" when she was debating whether or not to purchase the farmland on which the house was crumbling in upstate New York.  Apparently, Sophie wanted to renovate the barn into a writer's and Illustrator's retreat--which she has done impeccably--calling it Milkwood. But the old house was beyond saving. So before having a crew raze the structure, and sew wildflower seeds on the spot (*gasp!*), Sophie walked through that dilapidated home (full of leaves and decay), and rescued artifacts of a simpler era. In doing so, Ms. Blackall discovered the clues that pieced together the story of one real-life family who raised their twelve children to work together and keep a dairy farm running like clockwork.  After collecting forgotten articles of clothing, an ancient pump organ, pieces of vintage wallpaper, and whatever detritus that wonderful family left behind as they grew and moved on over the years, Sophie felt an inescapable telling of this family's story well-up within her. Hence the creation of her newest picture book. Lucky us!  So would you like Sophie Blackall herself to give you a guided tour through the pages of this stunning wonder-on-the-page? Then follow the link below to sink your reader's teeth into a delight more yummy than homemade yogurt made from freshly-milked cows... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrDwqLoSv6k (Just don't forget to come back--there are five more titles in which to revel...)  Going back to a slower time is always on my docket of things to do. Couldn't help finding a spot to sneak in this picture from our P.E.I. trip, as this little ride was so peaceful, so soothing, so full of trilling red wing blackbird song, that I had to share it here. (From Matthew's Carriage Ride at Park Corner, Silverbush, in P.E.I., Canada.) What do you look forward to, creative people? Accomplishing big goals? Or the little things? Or both? I love watching for the purple-hued mushrooms springing up through the spongy moss floor of the New England woods. Or anticipating raucous thunderstorms dumping sheets of rain on an ominous summer afternoon. How about the first scent of spicy air outside when the summer season cools into crisp autumn... (At right: my fun niece and fellow writer, Danie, during a downpour while on a summer visit to Maine...) 2) Anne of Green Gables a Graphic Novel Written by Mariah Marsden, Illustrated by Brenna Thummler  Title numero two, is a book I loved "looking forward to" giving as a birthday gift to one of my daughters on our family road trip to Prince Edward Island, Canada last month. This gem is a true treasure for L.M. Montgomery fans. And don't quote me on this, but I may or may not have caught each one of the guys in my family thumbing through this book as well...it's that good.)  I can not speak highly enough of this graphic novel spin on such a classic. If you're the type of person who can't (or refuses to) watch any other version of Anne of Green Gables than the Megan Follows portrayal, this book will thrill you to your Anne Shirley-est depths. Because I feel even Lucy Maud herself would approve. Wait and see, my kindred spirits...I think you will NOT be displeased... The tenderness Ms. Brenda Thummler employs in drawing Anne, Marilla, and Matthew's expressions is full of dainty sensibility and emotion.  At first glance when I opened the book (as an old-school illustrator, myself), I was taken aback and unsure of the fresh stylization. (Especially with the abrupt nose given to Anne's character...but I suppose in the stories, Anne does have a distinct nose after all. So there you go...)
 I had to keep reminding myself not to waste "gawking at the gorgeous scenery" for reading the book, because we'd have the book for years to come, right? But the trip would end before I could finish reading that graphic novel.  You'll see what I mean. After delving into the carefully-adapted story for just a few minutes, when someone breaks the spell and pulls you out of Anne Shirley's fairyland, be prepared for an odd suctioning sensation around your head--like you're moving through a rubber portal out of the 1870's--away from broken slates and chalkboards, and back to cell phones and e-mails from kids' teachers.  Like Anne, I feel so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers. And people who create books as lovely as sitting in a cherry tree all abloom in the moonlight would be. And grateful to know that there are really places that actually exist that truly inspire such stories and world-building.  On our family road trip in August, we goggled at the rows and rows of potatoes, barley, oats, wheat, canola, corn and soybeans that make up the patchwork quilt of agriculture on P.E.I. Just stunningly-pristine farmland. So, bosom friends, get ready to grasp your one-way ticket on the train from Charlottetown to Bright River with a one-way stop in Cavendish. So you can bask in Mariah Marsden and Brenna Thummler's epiphany-of-an-adaptation on Anne of Green Gables, their brilliant new graphic novel...ENJOY! “'Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive–it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we knew all about everything would it?'" 3) What Was I Scared of? Written and Illustrated by Dr. Seuss  Many of you picture book aficionados will have seen this lesser known tiny diamond-in-the-rough book before. But a few will have not. So if you're one of those few, and you (or someone you know) struggles with anxiety, this might be a mini therapist-of-a-picture book for you. To me, this is Dr. Seuss's nod to acknowledging that the dreaded situations we humans fear most (e.g. public speaking, childbirth, moving to a new place, surgery, exams in school, etc.) can become something we just might even look forward to the next time around, because working through those hard challenges makes us stronger, healthier, and more adventurously-resilient in the long run.  Just like the little Dr. Seuss character in What Was I Scared of? never thought he'd make friends with a pair of pale green pants with nobody inside them. If you don't know this tiny gem of a book, you must get acquainted...(since we're talking about surprises coming from empty pairs of pants...) I love those words from those Roman pants of Dave Butler. Because I've always been the type of goofy, dreamy person to make big plans. But if fear is the nemesis of creativity, how do we create--with a dread of judgment looming just beyond our pens, paintbrushes, chisels, and woodworking tools?  We jump into the shocking waters of risk, making fear our friend! Submerging ourselves in the startling rapids, and letting ourselves be carried down-river a bit with the fear of it. Then float back to the safety of shore to obtain what we really want--the beautiful outcome on the banks of peace. All this, knowing we'll bump into fear again along the way the next time we have to do that scary action of ______________ (YOU fill in the blank...). But fear is just going to have to be an acquaintance time and again, right? The good part is, the older we grow, the more we work through those terrifying acts (coming nose to nose with our personal phobias). So the more we do something, the less terrifying our phobias become, and the less power they hold over us. HA! Take that, spooky pale green pants with nobody inside 'em--we'll become friends after all... 4) Up in Heaven Written and Illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark  Maybe it's the recent passing of the Queen of England, and how very British Emma's books feel, or perhaps it's the love of my kids for our dog, Mr. Teds, but this book keeps popping into my consciousness lately. If you know a little person who loves a pet as a best friend, and has been heart-broken at their passing, or will someday. This is a book that might bring some comfort.  Don't these pictures just make your heart swell and ache with their soft beauty?  Emma Chichester Clark's gentle illustrations are always a pleasure to peruse, and the story here isn't so much of a thing to look forward to itself (as a book), but that of an idea that can be discussed in families--when someone we adore goes beyond the veil to that new reality and dimension that exists, but is not seen by us, what do we have to look forward to? The adventures that await us all once we come closer to figuring things out here. That last great journey (here) that leads to the new beginning there! On a lighter note, if you just want something fun to watch with your kids because you dig Ms. Chichester's artwork, and want to hear about her creative process, look below for a video clip of Emma describing her process of illustrating Alice in Wonderland in her London studio. Her spiel will make you laugh--what she says about arguing. It's simply spiffing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kPKXzdT9JY (Again, don't fall down Alice's rabbit hole by forgetting to come back, as the last two incredible book recommendations are still below...) 5) Things to Look Forward to Written and Illustrated (again!) by Sophie Blackall  For starters, this is not a children's picture book. It's a book with pictures for adults. Many more philosophical kids may also enjoy it, though. I, myself, brought it home for my teens (despite the second item Sophie Blackall lists "to look forward to" as being a cup of coffee. My kids and I don't drink coffee, and will never do so), we can still appreciate looking forward to coming home from school or work in the winter to a steaming mug of hot almond cocoa.  This soothingly-designed tome is wonderful Ms. Blackall's response to the dreariness brought-on by the global pandemic. She shares how even baking something for someone (muffins for the builders who restored the Milkwood Barn) gave her immense hope and joy at seeing their pleasure in receiving them each day. Plus, Sophie got to test out the muffins herself as she delivered them. Rather, this book is a collection of the basic things in life that Sophie considers gifts to humankind. The first thing she mentions: "The Sun Coming Up." She then opens by quoting one of our US presidents words, "No matter what happens, the sun will rise in the morning."  So no matter what ridiculously foolish thing we say, or how badly we trip in front of the entire class, or how terribly we stutter at someone we admire, or how dark and long the night may feel..."the sun will rise again in the morning." WHEW! As Anne with an 'e' would say, "A fresh new day, with no mistakes (or shattered slates over Gilbert's head...) in it yet." The real treat here, to go along with Ms. Blackall's lovely stylized illustrations, is realizing that so many ordinary happenings in life DO bring us immense joy and pleasure, without our even realizing it. For instance, that wellspring of news at hearing about the birth of someone else's child--even a complete stranger's--transcendence! The rewarding feeling of working up a sweat during your morning exercise, and knowing you just cleansed your physical body. Or how about the absolute comfort of coming home after a long time away? Ahhhhh....so nice, right? Just to give you a taste of Sophie's Things to Look Forward to, here are several of the items she's highlighted in this book: -A hot shower -Baking something for someone (multi-grain blueberry muffins!) -Learning a new word (all of you logophile friends will devour this entry!) -First snow -Drawing on eggs (surprise--I thought my family were the only ones who did this!) -Scattering wildflower seeds -Patting a friendly dog -Rain (in any season!) -New glasses (You mean the trees have individual leaves?) -Mending a hole -Collecting pebbles (my kids and I dig this one) -Rereading favorite bits of a favorite book (YES.) -Clean laundry -Moving the furniture around (My husband gets endorphin zings from this every time.) -Finding something you thought you'd lost -Tidying up (Thank you very much, Marie Kondo!) -Dinner (I love when my kids are happy about this one, not so much when they're not...) -Visiting a museum (Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy!) -Finishing something (Indeed!) -Falling in love (everyone understands...) -Writing a letter, and getting one back in the snail mail box. (Love you, dear penpals!) -A drink of water (we drink transparently-silver liquid--pretty darn cool!) -A nap, and -Growing one's own food. So very satisfying (Unless you go to P.E.I., hypothetically, of course, while the green beans come on. And return to harvest them all and have them called "horse beans" when your spouse spies the steroidal-looking mountain of tough pods on the counter...Ha ha! But that would never happen...) 6) Karma of the Sun Written by Brandon Ying Kit Boey  So, I haven't read this last book recommendation. (And it's not a children's book.) How then, can I share this title in good conscience? Simple. I know who the author is. (And I pay to run this website, so I can recommend whatever books my flights of fancy choose, right? Hee hee...) I also have great confidence in what an articulate, powerful public speaker Brandon Boey is, what a kind friend and husband he is to his wife, what a fun and encouraging dad he is to his handful of young children, and what a wise and steady Sunday school teacher he's been to my own kids and other adults over the years here in Maine. So I'll just say this...I can hardly WAIT to read this book, as I also know a bit about the writer's own fantastic journey on this great green earth. And I am thrilled to spread the word that Karma of the Sun will be released on January 17, 2023! Check out the synopsis on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61311948-karma-of-the-sun?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=osdEAg3Sd8&rank=1 Then order the book anywhere you usually would: amazon, thriftbooks, barnesandnoble, or directly through the publisher (CamCat Books). Jump back over on October 18, 2022, to the homepage to read an interview with Brandon Boey and his wife, Cristina. They'll set you up to spreading some good karma of your own.  Happy reading, bookworm friends! If you know Brandon Boey, you know what a powerful public speaker he is--we can only imagine what an escape Karma of the Sun is going to be. Pre-order your own copy on Amazon, and...
Don't forget to enter your three answers from the Brandon Boey interview/quiz from the homepage in the comments below to be entered into a drawing on January 17th, 2023 for one lucky winner to receive a signed copy of Karma of the Sun...Good luck!
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