If you are looking for great middle grade books and have not yet heard of The Elk King by Jenn Discher, it may be time you checked it out. The Elk King is a treasure that was published in 2021, and it has all the makings of a new classic. Chock full of all the…
Janet Izora was born in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in May of 1937, the younger daughter of Claude and Stella Jamison. During the autumn of her ninth year, she tagged along with her father for a day of hog butchering at the Kline place up on the hill. There she met Don. Donny was ten,…
For as long as they have been old enough to speak, each night as we tuck our kids into bed they have asked my husband, Dan, and me, “Can you tell us a story?” And they really do mean tell them a story, not read them one. They want a new one, one that’s all…
There is a dirt road on the western border of Missouri and Arkansas that winds for miles over an Ozark ridge until it eventually comes to nothing in an overgrown pasture beyond a tree painted purple. The mail lady calls the road, “The End of the World,” and the epithet is spot on. It is…
For two years my home was on ten secluded acres in the mountains of Arkansas. My family’s time there was brim full of adventures, and like any true adventure, they were much more miserable than stories would have you believe. Thankfully, there was also a pocketful of fantastic days and quite a few lovely, humdrum…
The wind howledAnd the sky scowledAnd everything was night. The wind whirledAnd the snow swirledAnd everything was white. The wind chilledBut the snow stilled,And everything was bright. The wind hushedAnd the sky blushed,Then everything was right. Photo by jannoon028 – freepik.com
My youngest turns four years old next week, and it hurts to even write that. Last month, my six-year old lost a tooth – one of the big ones right in front. She cried and I cried and we held each other for an hour, not because the tooth drawing was so painful, but because…
There’s a path outside my window, all covered with fallen leavesAnd I’ve never had the courage to discover where it leads.Many people live around me, they forever come and go,But I’ve never seen a single one walk that particular road. Perhaps there is a loathsome monster lurking around the curve,Or maybe a pernicious dragon I’m…
Last fall my husband surprised me with a gift of tulip and daffodil bulbs. 745 bulbs to be exact. Apparently, the greenhouse at the college where he teaches had been unable to sell this part of their stock and was tossing them. Now my husband comes from a long line of bargain finders and treasure…
Winter skies are heavy and seem to press down a dreary pessimism that is difficult to lift. The skies are gray, the birds are gray, and the ground is muddy. The biting air gnaws at our bodies, bringing aches and sickness to weary our souls. Some days it is difficult to believe that sun, warmth,…
