I felt like I was sitting in my own story while I talked to children about their own Christmas memories of grandparents and special ornaments. The fireplace in Krause Berry’s Farm’s beautiful multi-purpose room is just like the one in my third book! From our cozy spot among blankets on the floor, we looked way up to the mantle above the fireplace and imagined BlueBeary looking down on us just like the illustration on page 7 of A Very BlueBeary Christmas. I noticed how much children like to pause and anticipate what might happen next before turning a page. It was fun listening to them create the story in their own imagination as they told me bits of what they thought would happen next. The children especially enjoyed trying to guess what was in the box full of prickly things that BlueBeary landed in. A little light came on in their eyes when we turned the page and found they had guessed correctly. It seems this fun guessing game helps them begin to understand the flow of a sequence of events in a story and the importance of anticipation in the telling.
Another story in which I’m pausing and anticipating what comes next is the publishing of my next book, A Very BlueBeary Christmas. The designer has finished the layout and we just submitted another round of revisions, so we’re waiting again, eagerly anticipating the day when we are ready to send the book to print and put it in the hands of friends who helped us launch this project through Indiegogo.
What have you been waiting for – wondering and trying to guess what’s next?
Open Eyes Books 