What’s Next?

Drip. Drop. Nonstop.
Come on, pup.
Hurry up!
                                                  from The Umbrella
                                             written by Beth Ferry 
                                     illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
                    Clarion Books/HarperCollins Publishers, 2023

    I spent Sunday and yesterday distracted and processing the news (good, mostly) and stuck to the news (more than I wanted to be) and tending my garden (where I needed to be). 
    I’m still working on an idea for next week, but meanwhile:
      Thank you, President Biden, for all the good work you’ve done. 
      Thank you for your example of a generous spirit. 
      Thank you for putting aside your personal goals in favor of much
            bigger goals.
      Thank you for passing the torch to an up-and-coming generation.

    Even though the sun’s only just starting to peek out from around the storm clouds (which are still visible and very much with us) and the road ahead is still pretty puddly, when I came across this clip I thought it sums up where we are and where we are (I hope) headed.
Gene Kelly with the Muppets Singing in the Rain 

    This week I finished The Last Apple Tree by Claudia Mills (Holiday House, 2024). It’s a heartwarming story of friendship, family, and self-discovery.
    I started (and will finish this morning) Ferris by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick, 2024). With a cast full of zany and quirky characters, Ms. DiCamillo proves that “every good story is a love story.”
    I also started The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman (Atria Books, 2023). Escaping to the Community, Ivy, a young, pregnant woman, looks for protection but finds herself instead trapped in a misogynistic and oppressive cult.
    As a young woman herself, Ivy's daughter must now abandon the Community to discover that “love is stronger than any chains that bind you.” More on this one next week.
                                      Be curious! (dance in the rain)