Many times in our lives we are faced with change. In change, there is always pain and learning and growth. I love things to stay the same and comfortable, but if they do, I will never grow and become braver or stronger or wiser. The pain of change is valuable and good. The pain of change is the only thing that makes us leap from our comfortable place and do something new.

If you have been following me for a while, you’ll know that last August I had emergency intestinal surgery. I am recovering very well from that but I have had intense digestive pains at times since the surgery and have finally decided the pain was too much. I read about what could cause my symptoms and decided to try eliminating foods to see if that was the issue. The first I tried was dairy since it had bothered me before. I am so glad I did! Taking dairy out of my diet completely fixed the issues I was having. It meant changing my habits and trying new items at the grocery store, but the overall quality of life change is worth all the pain of trying new things and editing my food intake.

This month, my regional SCBWI Spring conference took place and I did several new things that forced me to grow. I drove the New York City art director around all weekend. I am nervous about meeting new people and making small talk. I love to talk about issues and interesting ideas, but I struggle with building up to that in a friendship. Well, it turned out the art director was incredibly nice and friendly. She and I got along very well all weekend. I grew in my interpersonal skill set and made a new friend.

I also finished my illustrations for my upcoming picture book! I am so proud of myself, and yet, a few days later the waves of excitement passed and I panicked. I have to put my book out into the world now. I have to publish and market it. I have to see if anyone will buy it. The fear set in. I will admit it, I freaked out and was crying in the pantry closet. Maybe it was a panic attack. I don’t know. What I do know is I have spent so many hours pouring myself into a project and I finished it, but the future of people’s response to the project isn’t up to me. I will have to change and grow again to take these next steps into the future.

Change happens all the time, and I challenge you to embrace it. We can’t hold our lives still, or stop the seasons. Children grow up, and so must we. The process of change polishes our tarnished surfaces, pulls up the weeds in our gardens, sharpens our blades… all those word pictures to help us see that we’re better when we embrace change and move through discomfort. When we allow change to take place in our hearts, God uses these times to make us better.

Updates:

New videos this month:

• How to Bring a Sketch to Finished Color
• How to FOCUS in order to Finish Projects in Four Steps
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Patty Cake Preschool Fingerplay
• Chapter Book Review: The Adventures of Penguin and Panda “Surprise!”

BIG NEWS!!

I completed my picture book illustrations and I am finalizing everything. I am going to be launching a kickstarter campaign in September to fund the printing of a beautiful hardcover version of my picture book and I can’t wait for you to see it!

A lot of time was spent this month trying different cover designs out, which I would love to show you. Here are some roughs…

And the final design (unless I change it again!!)…

Books Picks This Month:

Picture Book:

Stories of the Saints: Bold and Inspiring Tales of Adventure, Grace, and Courage

Written by Carey Wallace
Illustrated by Nick Thornborrow

Performing Miracles. Facing Wild Lions. Confronting Demons. Transforming the World.

From Augustine to Mother Teresa, officially canonized as St. Teresa of Calcutta, discover seventy of the best-known and best-loved saints and read their riveting stories.

My Take: I am not Catholic so I don’t know very much about the saints. This book has eye-catching and intriguing pictures to go with each saint’s story. I have enjoyed the stories so far, and it has added a new diminsion to our bedtime devotional time. A lot of these stories don’t end prettily, there’s a lot of martyrs, but it’s a good reminder that God is faithful through death and through horrible experiences. He sees what his followers go through and is with them.

Middle Grade/YA:

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

My Take: I just reread The Hunger Games again. It’s probably my fifth time reading it. I love this series so much and I can’t even tell you exactly why. I love that all the characters seem so real, and the intensity of the story coupled with the logical and steady narration of Katniss. If I ever write a middle-grade/YA book, I would want to write it like this one.

Adult:

Fairy Tale

by Stephen King

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a horrific accident when he was seven, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself–and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it.

Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world.

My Take: This is a very strange book. The first half is very normal, in this world, then the book takes a complete turn and turns into a fantasy. There are hints of the fantasy world from the start, but it takes a long time to get there. I found it interesting and page-turning, not life changing, but it was a fun read, if gruesome at times (it is Stephen King).

Until next time,

Charlotte J. Glaze