The Warren & the World is Story Warren’s weekly newsletter, providing a round-up of our favorite things from around the web as well as a review of what was on our site over the past week. We’re glad you’re here!
New Stretch Goal for Ember Falls Kickstarter!
As of this writing, we have just over 800 backers. We would love to see this project reach even more! So, if we reach 900 backers, at any level, all backers will receive an Audiobook Download Card for The Green Ember (a $20 value) to give away to help continue sharing these stories. AND, we’re throwing in two BRAND NEW stickers with propaganda-war-poster-style images of Heather and Picket from Ember Falls. Will you help us continue to spread the word?Around the Web
Peterson / Goodgame – Families On The Run
Over at CCM, Matt Conner interviewed our friends Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame about how they juggle family and music careers and the ways their families have more and more become a part of their music.
- We might not realize that our favorite artists, the women and men who visit the music venues around us, have lives of their own. Many of them wave goodbye to a spouse and kiss their children goodbye countless times each year as they seek to share their music and message with fans, old and new. It’s the sacrifice they make to leave home for the calling they feel to use the platform God has provided.
Two of our favorite songwriters have erased the lines that traditionally divide home and highway. Both Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame have walked the well-worn path of leaving family members behind for another run on the road. However, in recent years, both of these fathers-of-three have learned to ingratiate their families with their musical gifts for a new approach to their artistry—and a newfound joy in making music.
Notes to a Young Man Interested in My Daughter
At The Rabbit Room, Douglas McKelvey shares the letter he’s written to all potential suitors of his college-aged daughters. You may not yet be at that stage of life, but every parent will appreciate the fatherly care and wisdom Doug puts into this piece.
- You think my daughter is special. That’s good. It means you’re observant. Her mom and I think she’s special too. At this point, though, none of us can know how your relationship will develop. You might date for a while and get to know each other better and then at some point drift apart for any of a hundred reasons. Or, you might find that the more you get to know each other with all of your individual virtues and talents and quirks and habits and woundedness and dreams—that through the fun and the difficulty and the elation and the hurt of really knowing and caring for this other person, that you are more and more drawn to one another and that the joys and challenges of your friendship and your relationship only make you stronger together.
In Defense of Absurdly Early Bedtimes
Melinda Wenner Moyer has an interesting piece at Slate about the science behind the benefits of early bedtimes. writes at Grace Table about loving those who are different than we are.
- my kids are happier and more fun to be around when I stick with a consistent and early bedtime. And ever since I’ve started looking at the science, I’ve become only more convinced that the earlier you say night-night, the better. Research consistently shows that putting kids to bed early is beneficial for their physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Not only do kids tend to sleep more when the lights go out sooner, but they also may get a greater proportion of restorative sleep, too. Early kid bedtimes are also great for parental sanity.
The Story of “Good Vibrations”
I happened upon this piece at NPR last month on the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys song “Good Vibrations.” It’s an archival story, but they shared it again that day. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since, so–even though it may not be our normal fare here at W&W, I thought I’d share. If you’ve got the time, listen to the audio–there’s quite a bit there that isn’t in the text version. It’s a fascinating look at creativity and the dogged work Brian Wilson did to get what he heard in his head into a form he could share–and in the process created something that changed its genre.
- It’s hard to think of American pop music in the 1960s without thinking of The Beach Boys.
In 1966, as rock ‘n’ roll was changing, Beach Boy Brian Wilson wrote a song that would break the rules of AM pop radio.
Around the Warren
Imagination and Evil
Kathleen Shumate reminds us of the value of the stories that show our children evil is real.
- A few years ago my husband and I started collecting storybooks to introduce the classic tales to our kids. As we searched and read, we found a strange disconnect between the stories we remembered and what was being published. In one version of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, it turns out that the troll who initially wants to eat the three goats is just famished and has never tried plants. The goats convince him to become a vegan and they all became friends.
Next was a new version of Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack plants his magic bean, climbs the vine, and meets the giant, who temperately sings out, “Fee fi fo fum, who is it that has come?” No blood of Englishmen for him! At the end they, too, become buddies and snack together on something besides Jack.
We didn’t buy these books.
Ideas Are All Around
Laura Peterson introduces us to the picture book Ideas Are All Around, by Philip C. Stead.
- I like to keep an eye on some “Caldecott award watch” websites, and when I saw one mention a book called Ideas Are All Around, by Philip C. Stead, it caught my attention as one that the Story Warren crowd might be interested in. This whimsical picture book is a simple story; the narrator goes on a walk with his dog, Wednesday, and greets a few neighbors. The beautiful art is what really draws you in. Stead uses a collage of photographs, typewriter print, and drawings of animals to beautiful effect; my favorite spread is a wordless collection of photographs of a clear blue sky, presented in Polaroid frames.
Something to Do with Your Kids
I’m currently in Michigan visiting my parents and reveling in the peonies and roses that are bursting out everywhere. My head will always equate roses with June, so I thought I’d share some craft ideas for you to capitalize on my stream of consciousness,
And Something to Watch
Destin at Smarter Every Day geeks out about magnets.
Thank you for reading. We’re on your side.
Carolyn Clare Givens is displaced Northerner exploring the foreign ways of the South. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her two literary cats, Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. She's the author of The King's Messenger and Rosefire and in her free time helps run Bandersnatch Books.
You can find her at carolyncgivens.com or on Facebook or Instagram at @carolyncgivens.
You can find her at carolyncgivens.com or on Facebook or Instagram at @carolyncgivens.
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