When I was a little girl, my family moved across the country. It was also the year my first little sister was born. I was in kindergarten, so it was also probably the year I learned to read and write. I lost my first tooth as we drove across the country. It was a big year, full of changes and fear. When you’re young and your life decisions are made for you, it gives you a feeling of complete and utter lack of control.

Perhaps that’s why I run my own business now, to have control over my own time and efforts. Perhaps that’s why I have a drive to help children deal with their own big feelings and find peace and hope even through turbulence, through stories and art. Perhaps that’s why I trust God to be faithful through any situation because He never changes even if your entire life around you does. 

I have spent the first part of this year thinking and planning the year ahead. I wanted to really set up a plan because I have a lot I want to do and I don’t want to get distracted from the important things by the everyday little things and never get my big goals done. One thing I listened to that has helped me to get focused was Jake Parker’s Minimalist Planner video. 

Working through his approach I got my year broken down into goals and steps and I am ready to rock and roll.

Project Updates:

I have some new YouTube videos:

• The Itsy Bitsy Spider fingerplay
• Five Little Monkeys fingerplay

I drew the cover art for both of those videos and I’m so happy with how they turned out. You will be seeing some more nursery rhyme art coming in the future as well.

Books I’m Reading and Recommending:

Picture Book:

Nothing Rhymes with Orange

by Adam Rex

My Take: In one word – HILARIOUS. This one is FUN to read-aloud, and is ZANY in the best way. It even has a heartfelt point to all the silliness. Try it at storytime, it’ll be a hit.

We all know nothing rhymes with orange, but how does that make Orange feel? Well, left out, obviously! When a fruit parade gets together to sing a song about how wonderful they are–and the song happens to rhyme–Orange can’t help but feel like it’s impossible to ever fit in. 

Middle Grade:

Do You Hear What I Hear?

by Helen Dunlap Newton

My Take: I started to read this book and my 10-year-old asked what it was about and promptly stole it from me. I had to wait until she finished it before getting to read it the rest of the way! This book is one your kids will like and you can feel good about them reading. 

After a tragic accident leaves Noah Baker deaf, he has the chance to regain some of his hearing with a cochlear implant. Upon activation, however, he finds out he’s able to hear a whole lot more than just sound waves – he’s able to hear the thoughts of others. Now Noah has a secret power to deal with on top of everything else in his life! When the government finds out, they attempt to recruit Noah for a top-secret mission. Will he and his snarky partner, Lena, succeed or will Noah’s abilities get them in more trouble than they bargained for?

Adult:

A Feast for Starving Stone

by Beth Cato

My Take: I enjoyed this book. I ordered it straight away after reading the first one in the series (A Thousand Recipes for Revenge), and I think this one was great, too. It didn’t have the twists and turns that the first one had, but it’s a satisfying ending to the story.

Princess Solenn’s marriage into royalty should have unified the continental neighbors of Verdania and Solenn’s homeland of Braiz against a common enemy: the country of Albion. Thanks to Albion’s cunning sabotage, Verdania is now Braiz’s lethal rival. And the dead Braizian sailors washed ashore near Solenn’s château are just the beginning.

Arriving in the midst of danger, Ada Garland, rogue Chef to the Gods, is desperate to reunite with her daughter, Solenn. Not only has open war begun; it’s become heart-wrenchingly personal. Ada’s long-lost, beloved Braizian musketeer, Captain Erwan Corre, is being held in a Verdanian prison, with execution imminent. And her daughter has been tasked with the near-doomed responsibility of uniting violently adversarial countries in peace.

Can Solenn and Ada, coming together, stop their land from descending into all-out war? And what will Solenn become to achieve victory? As ambassador between the human and magical worlds, Solenn must now draw from both to prevent catastrophe, and this time, even the Gods are working against her.

Until next time,

Charlotte J. Glaze