“The Luck of the Buttons” & The Love of Iowa
The Luck of the Buttons introduces us to a host of delightful characters living in small town Iowa in 1929. You might call them gullible or naïve, but I call them innocent, trusting, and blessed to live in Iowa. Because regardless of what Soren thinks, Iowa is one of the “cool” places.
August Impressions
The art work of Monet (and my kids) encouraged me to take a step back in order to look for the beauty in an August that up-close looked dark, dusty, and full of decisions.
PIE: A Tale Full of Sweet Inspiration
An inspiring role model, lots of laughter, and fourteen pie recipes to try...who would have thought that all of that could come from a title so short and sweet?
“The Raft” and the Wonder of Drawing Close
“When you draw something, you get closer to it and know it better.” - Jim LaMarche
Even before I put my colored pencils to paper, this statement, tucked in the foreword of The Raft by Jim LaMarche, resonated with me. It just made sense. It made so much sense in fact that I found myself buying notebooks and colored pencils and telling the kids we were going to “go outside and draw stuff.” As we thus stumbled into the world of nature journaling, I quickly realized that we had come upon a powerful study method that would indeed draw us closer to the wonders of God’s creation…
Wishtree: An Encouraging Story About a Tree (which those of us in Cedar Rapids could really use)
A skunk named Hotbutteredpopcorn, a opossum named Flashlight, a girl named Samar…these are just a few of the characters that surround Red, the strong old oak at the center of this story that had us laughing and “rooting” for friendship and kindness to win the day. After another season of derecho cleanup, we were more than ready for an encouraging story about a tree…
A Story and a Sweet Treat Perfect for a “Cold Snap”
"Cold Snap” by Eileen Spinelli is a delightful story that is clearly set somewhere south of Iowa…