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Running the Goat Books and Broadsides

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Mr. Beagle Goes to Rabbittown
(Ages 3-5)
Lori Doody 
Running the Goat Books & Broadsides

When Mr. Beagle decides to set up shop in Rabbittown, business at his convenience store is not exactly brisk. The bunnies of Rabbittown, a likeable and friendly bunch generally speaking, are not entirely sure what to make of their new neighbour. 

But when mittens start mysteriously disappearing, Mr. Beagle has plenty of time on his hands and “a good nose for sniffing out trouble.” As he scours the town for clues, his investigative efforts lead to another recent newcomer, Tom Cat, who had disguised himself as a bunny in order to fit in. 

With the mystery solved, and the citizens of Rabbittown happy to help Tom Cat in his ongoing quest for mittens (for his three little kittens, of course), Mr. Beagle and the Cat clan find themselves warmly welcomed into their new home at last.

Lori Doody

Lori Doody’s latest picture-book offering provides all the warmth and whimsy that fans of her work have come to expect and cherish. The story is spare and simply told but not too subtle to convey vital messages about acceptance, being yourself and the importance of community. 

True to form, the illustrations tell their own story with bold, bright colours and delicate, dark outlines.  Each page is precise and detailed (including the delightful endpapers), featuring a flat perspective that lends itself well to the understated tone of the tale. Together, words and images radiate a cheerful energy and optimism that will delight children and adults alike in this playful, quirky tale. 

Without feeling didactic or heavy handed, the residents of Rabbittown learn a valuable lesson about inclusion, which leads to a deeply satisfying ending whereby Rabbittown had become “a neighbourhood where any bunny, dog, cat, mouse, squirrel or fox could find new friends and warm mittens.” 

Who wouldn’t want to live there?

Lisa Doucet is the co-manager of Woozles Children’s Bookstore in Halifax. She shares her passion for children’s and young-adult books as our young readers editor and book reviewer.

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Saku’s Great Newfoundland Adventure. Illustration courtesy of Flanker Press.

Books can provide a wonderful opportunity to introduce children to the subjectivity of “home.” It is as much an experience as a physical place, and unsurprisingly, “home” lays at the heart of many stories. In four new children’s releases, home is explored, with lessons to learn and joys to celebrate.

In Sid the Kid and the Dryer, we see how a house can truly be a home for a young boy like Sidney Crosby. For some, the house where they grow up is a haven, a place to retreat from the rest of their world and truly be themselves. In Sidney’s case, it is where he dreams of being the greatest hockey player. He gets discouraged, but, here in this safe and private space, he learns that it is okay to make mistakes, and he finds the encouragement to pursue his dreams. Such is the power of home.

Meanwhile, journeys often help develop an appreciation for the joys and comforts of home, as in Saku’s Great Newfoundland Adventure. This travelogue portrays the grueling conditions that a Cape Shore water dog and his master encountered on their expedition and the exhilaration they both experienced as they let the Newfoundland wilderness become their home for over two months. While Saku accepts this new version of home, his excitement as he and his master finally return to their St. John’s home is heartwarming. Similarly, many children must leave their homes behind, for various reasons. Adapting to different surroundings is a valuable life skill, but most readers will appreciate the sense of joy and relief when one finds oneself home at last.

And what about new homes? Adjusting to unfamiliar surroundings can be a challenge for people of any age, and sometimes, even birds! In Paint the Town Pink, a flamingo wonders if a certain town might make a perfect new home. But there is more to home than just a pretty place. Young readers will recognize Rose’s need to determine if she can fit in in this place, for home is not just a building or a city or a spot on a map. It is also the people, and a sense of belonging. Ultimately for Rose, it is the townspeople and their warmth, their efforts to create a place for her that make this town home and that demonstrate that we, too, can make new homes for ourselves, with support, encouragement and openness.

There are also times when someone leaves home and/or loses their way, as in Sydney Smith’s Small in the City. The simple, poignant text, coupled with evocative illustrations, leads readers on a tour of one boy’s city home. Together, words and images create an eloquent portrait of his urban home: the frenzy and relentlessness; the towering buildings and jostling crowds; the motion and mayhem. But they also provide a more intimate look at home: the shortcuts and alleyways, the best hiding places and other quiet but touching observations about this place. All in the hopes that perhaps someone will find their way back home.

The circumstances and definitions of home as well as the feelings that it evokes vary enormously…which is precisely why home is so profoundly satisfying to write and read about!

Sharing these four stories with children will give adult readers and young listeners alike the chance to think about what home means to them, and to savour the wonder and  whimsy of each one. ■

More on the books….

 

Sid the Kid and the Dryer: A Story About Sidney Crosby
by Lesley Choyce, illustrated by Brenda Jones
(Nimbus Publishing)

When a Whirlpool dryer comes to live in the Crosby household, it gets to witness firsthand all of young Sidney’s passion for hockey as well as his doubts and fears.

 

 

Paint the Town Pink
written and illustrated by Lori Doody
(Running the Goat Books and Broadsides)

An unexpected visitor must decide if this new town will make a perfect new home for her. The townspeople go to great lengths to welcome her and to convince her to stay.

 

Small in the City
written and illustrated by Sydney Smith
(Groundwood Books)

A child wanders through his city’s busy streets, navigating traffic and construction and never-ending crowds of people. But amidst the cacophony of everyday city life, there are also hidden spaces, and the people and places that make this otherwise overwhelming urban jungle a home.

 

Saku’s Great Newfoundland Adventure
by Marie-Beth Wright, illustrated by Corey Majeau
(Flanker Press)

A Cape Shore water dog joyfully relates the true story of how he and his master, Justin, embarked on a journey across Newfoundland, back to their home in St. John’s.

 

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If friend and fellow author Melanie J. Fishbane hadn’t come to Halifax to promote her novel Maud, I probably wouldn’t be working as a publicist at Conundrum Press. Yes, the two events may seem disconnected, but if you’ve ever read the children’s book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, you might think otherwise. 

When Fishbane came to Halifax in July 2017, I offered to help her schedule some interviews and events. After one of her readings, we ended up at a crêpe restaurant with Christy Ann Conlin (Nova Scotia-born and raised author of the brand-new and brilliant Watermark), and Fishbane casually mentioned that I’d helped her with the tour. 

A couple months later, I ran into Conlin at the launch of Carol Bruneau’s short collection, A Bird on Every Tree. Afterwards, while chatting under a streetlight’s glow, she mentioned I should expect an email from Andy Brown, her partner (life, not business) and Conundrum Press’s publisher. He needed a publicist, and after our talk at the crêpe place, Conlin suggested me. Sure, I have the qualifications and the experience and, as an author, the required empathy, but ultimately, that door opened because I helped another author on a whim (and maybe also because I go to a lot of book events).

In the Atlantic Canadian publishing industry, such stories aren’t uncommon. Ideas are shared, help offered and spontaneous brainstorming happens over drinks. Over the last couple of years, more of these conversations seem to be resulting in grassroots marketing efforts, probably in part because it’s getting harder to bridge the gap between readers and books. Newspapers are cutting book coverage, Goodreads
is overwhelming and social media algorithms are constantly shifting. But thanks to these behind-the-scenes conversations, readers can find great books in new ways. 

With traditional book conferences, many incredible literary festivals, events like the Atlantic Book Awards and new digital possibilities, opportunities for people to talk, dream and brainstorm books will continue, and new promotional ideas and collaborations will ensue. Meanwhile, the real winner will be you—the reader with the teetering pile of Atlantic Canadian books. ■

Watch book trailers…

Take RC Shaw’s Louisbourg or Bust: A Surfer’s Wild Ride Down Nova Scotia’s Drowned Coast, for example. When it was released, the book was promoted using an unexpected book trailer. Bebop Film Collective had profiled Shaw in a short film, and when he saw the end result, he realized it would make an excellent book trailer. With Bebop’s permission, Shaw and Pottersfield Press used it to market the book. And it worked—more than 1,100 people have watched the trailer on Vimeo, a video-sharing site. Those viewers include journalists who ended up interviewing Shaw, exposing more readers to the book. (vimeo.com)

Shaw’s isn’t the only book being promoted using a book trailer—it’s becoming more common to find these trailers on YouTube or publisher websites. Goose Lane Editions is using a highly effective trailer to promote Amy Spurway’s book, Crow—
I know, because within 24 hours of watching, I was $23 poorer. (youtube.com) 

 

Listen to book podcasts…

Nimbus Publishing’s Book Me! podcast, hosted by former CBC host Costas Halavrezos, was the brainchild of Robin Grant. Currently, Grant is Nimbus’ sales rep (and the producer of Book Me!), but at the time, she was working as the publisher’s educational consultant. She thought a podcast featuring different authors in conversation would be a great way to get the word out about new titles, so she pitched the idea to Nimbus co-owner Terrilee Bulger. They applied for funding from Arts Nova Scotia, and they got it. 

Just as Grant expected, plenty of readers discover new books through the podcast, but there’s been a bit of an unexpected twist: because the interviews cover everything from ghosts to Sable Island, some people tune in for the topics instead of the authors, which means Nimbus is reaching new markets. Like Louisbourg or Bust, Book Me! has also attracted coverage from other sources, including bloggers and traditional media. (bookmepodcast.ca)

Read quick bits…

The BookBits videos used by Running the Goat Books and Broadsides also resulted from a pitch. Michelle Porter, a writer and researcher, brought the idea to Marnie Parsons, Running the Goat’s publisher. Porter wanted to highlight new books by creating very short promotional videos. Parsons agreed to try it, and now she posts the videos on Running the Goat’s website. The videos are purposefully brief—Porter hopes to leave readers wanting more. (runningthegoat.com/news) 

Readers can even discover fascinating books on crowd-funding sites like Kickstarter. That’s how Bradan Press raised some of the funds necessary to publish Anna Ruadh, a Scottish Gaelic translation of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. For obvious reasons, actually bringing this book to fruition was a collaborative effort between Bradan Press and its readers, but the Kickstarter effort also served as a marketing campaign. Bradan shared the campaign widely on social media, and with the help of the wider Gaelic community and plenty of dedicated Anne fans, the Kickstarter fund raised over $17,000—and prompted traditional media coverage. 

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PB’s Comet
Written by Marnie Parsons, illustrated by Veselina Tomova
Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides
(Ages 3 to 8)

When the sheep and the lambs of Toad’s Cove (along with one cranky old goat!) make their way to Fox’s Island to spend the summer, they look forward to leisurely days of grazing on the island’s salty green grass and cavorting on the rocks by the sea. All but one solemn little lamb, that is.

PB’s head and heart are in the stars. Inspired by the renowned halley's comet Edmund Halley who once visited Toad’s Cove, PB is determined to study the stars until she finds a way to predict when the next comet will appear.

But that one crotchety old goat is determined to thwart PB’s efforts, doing everything he can to throw obstacles in her path. He hides her spyglass and jumbles her numbers. But then “the sight of the night sky, and the wonder it brings/of the largeness and the beauty and the smallness of things” makes him realize all that he’s been missing.

From then on, while the other sheep and lambs continue to spend their days munching on the tender grasses and gamboling along the cliffs and coasts, these two unlikely friends spend their nights stargazing and drinking in the wonders of the skies.

Another delightful and quirky picture book offering from Running the Goat Books & Broadsides, PB’s story is sure to charm young listeners. The jaunty and lyrical text begs to be read aloud as it trips and dances along in frolicsome fashion.

Parsons, who hails from Ontario but now calls Newfoundland home, has crafted a tale that feels timeless and contemporary. Young readers will marvel at PB’s passion and zeal. The old goat’s dramatic change of heart leads to a most satisfying ending.

While the book is set in Newfoundland and was inspired by true events in what is now known as Tor’s Cove, the story has a universal quality and will be read and loved by readers everywhere.

Veselina Tomova’s illustrations are playful and sprightly, featuring a sketchy and free-flowing style and a folk-arty feel. With muted tones, they bring this gaggle of sheep (and one goat) to life.

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Seasons Before the War
Bernice Morgan
Running the Goat

 

Shiny and New
Robert Chafe
Breakwater Books

 

 

In the kind of coincidence that can only happen in Newfoundland, two new Newfoundland children’s books have been published, separately, each as a result of choral concert performances.

Lady Cove Women’s Choir first commissioned Governor General Literary Award-winning playwright Robert Chafe’s (Oil and Water, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams) Shiny and New (published by Breakwater Books). It was originally a recitation combined with traditional Christmas music performed by the choir at Gower Street United Church in 2016.

Meanwhile, the Shallaway Youth Choir originally commissioned Thomas Raddall Literary Prize-winning novelist and short-story writer Bernice Morgan’s (Random Passage, Waiting for Time) Seasons Before the War (Running the Goat).

Shiny and New is Robert Chafe’s first middle-grade reader (a chapter book for ages 7-12) and features the artwork of Grant Boland. It is a contemporary story about community and the true Christmas spirit. It is a story of a little girl who has lost her grandmother, whose grandfather is grief-stricken and whose mother is hosting newcomers to the town for dinner. Change and tradition come together in the contemporary Christmas tale.

Morgan’s Seasons Before the War on the other hand celebrates memories of Christmases past, and a childhood in the St. John’s of the late 1930s. Brita Granstöm is the illustrator. This slightly fictionalized telling explores quotidian and seasonal delights: watching fire trucks put out fires at the local dump, going for messages at nearby shops, listening to stories by the kitchen stove, starting school and anticipating Christmas.

Morgan, who was born in pre-confederation Newfound, shows her talent here, displaying this world from the child’s eye while hinting at the changed world on the horizon.

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When I suggested to publisher Marnie Parsons that I create short audio-visual pieces that would tell little bits of the stories behind Running the Goat Books & Broadsides’ beautiful books, she said: “You know, you should give it a try.”

Which was a leap of faith on her part, I think, because I doubt I’d been able to articulate a clear vision for the shiny, sweet book-movies that existed in my imagination.

I knew there was a way to use a combination of today’s new, inexpensive audio and visual editing software programs to build simple little movies from a mix of still photographs, book illustrations and audio recordings. It would be like trying a new recipe from ingredients I’d worked with before.

Marnie and I agreed on one thing from the outset: BookBit videos had to be short. This kept the budget within reason. Just as important, we knew that today’s audiences don’t watch long videos, however well produced they might be.

And so I stepped into the wonderful world of BookBit production. To date, I’ve produced nine BookBit videos. I’m working on the tenth.

Production goes something like this:

  1. I read the book, sketch out ideas and make notes about the interesting tidbits that might pique someone’s imagination. For this, I make use of my background in the study of folklore and narrative geography.
  2. I call up the writer and/or illustrator for an interview. This is my favourite part because of the stories they each tell. At this stage, I rely on my background in journalism and oral history research.
  3. I cut the audio into mini-stories. There’s something thrilling about building soundscapes and sound stories. I’ve always listened to radio, to stories read aloud, and I now listen to all kinds of podcasts, so the sound element is important to me. I plan to do more with this part as I go along.
  4. Finally, I build the visual narrative to mirror the audio. Anyone working in books knows how the visual can work its own magic when paired with any story, audio or text. I use a simple program that has limits in terms of its professional use, but that allows me to do this part of the job quickly. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it—I love it—it’s just that I need to keep the time investment reasonable to keep BookBits affordable.

Each BookBit has been different. The BookBits about PB’s Comet told stories about illustrator Veselina Tomova’s flash of inspiration while drinking coffee and a writer who “went for it” and wrote the book she’d been wanting to read. The BookBit featuring Mallard, Mallard, Moose by Lori Doody had fun with the stories behind the jokes the illustrator/author seeded through her book. The three BookBits featuring the poetry chapbook Waste Ground offer glimpses into the personality of the hops plant (a fallen alcoholic), show us plants that are scary and joyous, and tell us how to boil the sting out of nettles.

The latest three BookBits feature readings by writer and performer Andy Jones and his musing about folk hero Jack (we all know somebody just like him), how to face life’s tyrants and win, and the enduring meaning of love’s first kiss.

The idea I pitched to Marnie in the spring of this year is still in development, really. I’m getting better at getting to the stories I want to tell. The idea will mature.

There are things I’d like to work on. There’s potential to create a variety of lengths with each title for different uses. I’d like to create a micro-BookBits series of even shorter videos. The challenge then will become how to distill the story to pique the interest of our audience: how and where to end the video before anyone has lost interest in watching.

The shortest BookBit so far is 47 seconds. It’s called “The Kiss” and features Andy Jones discussing his first chapter book Jack and the Green Man. This BookBit has had the largest and strongest audience response so far.

Admittedly, it’s a turn of situational irony that I’m producing these short little videos now, two years after completing a PhD and a very-long dissertation on rural women’s narratives of home. The academic and somewhat long-winded writing style required in the genre of the dissertation led me to a deep, and perhaps desperate, appreciation of all things short. I have a book of poetry coming out in the fall of 2019 with Breakwater Books; that book is an anti-dissertation, involving lots of line breaks and images that move very quickly from one to the other.

BookBits are visual poems to me, opportunities to explore the sparkling ephemera, the contemporary folklore and the behind-the-scenes details of a technology I’ve always loved. It’s a portable technology and one that was always affordable through the libraries in every city and small town I lived in growing up: the book.

To see more BookBits, check out our youtube channel: at RunningtheGoat. You’ll also find a few published through our Instagram and Facebook accounts.

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What do you do when you are a moose who is being followed by two unassuming mallard ducks? The moose in this story, who finds himself in precisely that predicament, strolls into St. John’s in search of a home for the wayward mallards. He traverses the entire city looking for someplace to divest himself of his unwanted companions, but to no avail.

He tries to leave them at a park or possibly downtown or by the harbour but they are uncomfortable with the swans and the pigeons and the seagulls. A bakery and a local restaurant give him pause but then neither spot proves to be quite right. What is a moose supposed to do? Fortunately, just when his patience appears to be wearing thin, the answer appears.

This is the third picture book from Lori Doody, a Newfoundland artist whose two earlier tales, like this one, combine droll humour and delightful illustrations to wonderful effect. Short, simple sentences outline the moose’s plight and clever word play provides amusement throughout (as when he couldn’t find a place to “fit the bill”).

Also as in her previous tales, the text and illustrations very much work together to weave their magic. The images of St. John’s are distinct and easily identifiable and the folk-art style that Doody employs auits the story perfectly. Bold, bright and flat colours, thin lines and comic details enable the illustrations to tell their own tale and expertly capture the setting.

Children and adults alike will be gratified when they reach the final page where the moose finally says goodbye “to the duck, the duck and the goose,” the answer that the story was, of course, begging for all along.

Mallard, Mallard, Moose
Lori Doody
Running the Goal Books & Broadsides

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As this delightful story begins, we learn that “There once was a city by the sea with a peculiar problem.” Puffins have suddenly and inexplicably invaded this seaside town, turning up in museums and galleries, on rooftops and doorsteps, at major intersections and anyplace the eye can see. They seem to be especially fond of the downtown, where they prove to be a major distraction, tying up traffic and generally becoming a nuisance to all but the birdwatchers.

Would perhaps shipping them off to Iceland be a possibility? Fortunately “someone small and smart” proposes a more practical solution. Soon, boats filled with fish (donated by local seafood shops) head out to sea with a myriad of puffins happily following them to the ocean. Problem solved…for now!

Utterly charming and winsome, this book is a delight, from the beautifully decorated endpapers to each page in between. A backnote explains how young puffins do, in fact, ofen get confused by city lights and wind up stranded on land as they try to make their way to the ocean. Young readers may be inspired to learn about the Puffin Patrol that seeks to rescue and reroute lost puffins.

The simple, spare prose lends the book an understated quality that enriches the subtle humour and playfulness of the story. The illustrations are loose and layered and colourful with a folk-art flavour that perfectly suits the text and captures the distinctly Newfoundland setting. Using thin lines, solid colours and a predominantly flat perspective, Doodey conveys warmth and whimsy in every image and the cheery, cheeky puffins add an impish tone to the story. Children will relish the opportunity to pore over the images in search of puffins while adult readers will appreciate the cleverness of both the text and illustrations.

The Puffin Problem
Lori Doodey
Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides

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Actor/writer/storyteller/director Andy Jones (Jack and the Green Man) gets to the heart of Sheree Fitch’s (Whispers of Mermaids and Wonderful Things, Polly MacCauley’s Finest, Divinest, Woolliest Gift of All) wonderful wordplay.

Andy Jones: I was trying to picture what your upbringing was like, wondering where your love of poetry, wordplay, silliness, puns, nonsense and alliteration comes from.

Sheree Fitch: I came from a house filled with words.
But not the usual way.
Neither one of my parents had gone to university.
My dad was a Mountie, if you can believe it.
And when he went to high school he was a bit mischievous.
He got detention, and his punishment was to recite poetry!

And he always said it worked
Because he ended up being this law abiding, storytelling Mountie.

Once he had us kids he had this storehouse of incredible poems!
But he was very irreverent and he would perform them
Very dramatically …

“O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitude:”
 
And of course we were like four years old–
So we didn’t know what that meant.
But we loved it.

We would always say
“Dad! Tell us a story with your mouth talkin’!”

He was always making up these tragic stories
That would get us crying in our rooms, like
‘The Girl Who Took Stuffed Animals And Threw Them Into The Snow Bank”

And we’d say:
“No, daddy get those stuffed animals back in!”

My mother would go by the door and say
“For God sakes you got those kids crying again.”
My mom and dad were great.
My mom came from this family of 12,
They were the only Acadian family in Sussex New Brunswick.
Imagine.

My grandparents taught themselves English.
By the time my mother came along she was told:
You have to speak English.

I think, partly because she lost her language
She had this love of words, and she would sing those funny, lyrical, Crazy, tongue-twisty poems and songs from the 1940’s and 50’s.
You know, like:

“Mares eat oats and does eat oats
And little lambs eat ivy
A kid’ll eat ivy too wouldn’t you?”

You know that one? And:
 
“Abba dabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dabba
Said the chimpee to the monk
All night long they chattered away.
All day long they were happy and gay,
Swinging and swaying in a honky, tonky way.”
So I would come home from school and hear my mom,
On her hands and knees, I swear to God,
Waxing the kitchen floor, with those old bumper waxing things,
And we would come in and help her by
Sliding across the kitchen floor in our socks.
And she’d be belting out those tunes!

They did it because they loved to play with their kids.
And they loved singing
And rhythm
And stories.
Now, my dad’s parents had been teachers,
They had a houseful of books.
And I can still remember the first book I read alone,
It was at my grandmother’s in the oak tree in the front yard.
It was A.A. Milne’s Down at Pooh Corner
“The more it snows (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes  (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes  (Tiddely pom),
On snowing.”
I really was a blessed child –

And there was this Grade 2 teacher who said
We could write poems!

And the first poem I ever wrote was
“I’m an itchy Fitch
And I live in a ditch
In a Mulberry ditch
And I look like a witch
And sometimes I itch”
And she put it in the school fair.
And I watched people go by and read it
And when they read it they smiled, and I felt:

Oh my God something I wrote can make somebody happy!
It was like I discovered fire!

Andy Jones: Are there storytellers who’ve shaped you?

Sheree Fitch: I think I was influenced by many stand-up comedians!
I think if I could have been anything else in the world
I’d be Carol Burnett!
Or Cathy Jones!

I love to make people smile and laugh.
Laughter is juice. Magical juice.

And of course there were definitely poets.
I loved A. A. Milne.
And Carl Sandberg:
 
“DRUM on your drums, batter on your banjoes,
sob on the long cool winding saxophones.
Go to it, O Jazzmen.
 
Sling your knuckles on the bottoms of the happy
tin pans, let your trombones ooze, and go husha-
husha-hush with the slipper sand-paper.
 
Moan like an autumn wind high in the lonesome tree-tops,
moan soft like you wanted somebody terrible, cry like a
racing car slipping away from a motorcycle cop”

That joyous, raucous wordplay!
I thought:
I want to do that. I want my reader to go where I go when I hear that.

It tickles our brain
It can lift our hearts
It can make us smile.

Why?
Why does Snickerknickerbox make kids laugh all over the world?
Just when I say Snickerknickerbox.

When I read Samuel Beckett,
I remember thinking that my head exploded.
Some things explode language!
And that doesn’t make sense but it makes sense.
I went into the land of absurdity
And I never came really out again.
Wordplay is
Something that
I can’t seem
To not want to do.

If I could stay there, Andy, I’d be happiest.

Andy Jones: Do you think all of your works are really monologues meant to be spoken aloud?

Sheree Fitch: I think what I do is an oral tradition.
It’s always meant to have
The sound of the word
Coming through a human voice,
I still want them lifted from that page
and given
and offered
and shared.

Mouth talkin’.

And that’s what I’m thinking now,
I just turned sixty this year, Andy.
But I have a few more things I want to do.
I want to perform more
And get out there more.
I’m opening a little bookshop,
Did you know that?

Andy Jones: No.

Sheree Fitch: Oh God. I’m opening up a little bookshop!

Andy Jones: Where?

Sheree Fitch: Way across on a dirt road in Nova Scotia.
The first box of books came today…

 

Sheree Fitch’s bookshop is Mable Murple’s Book Shoppe and Dreamery in River John, Nova Scotia. It specializes in Atlantic Canadian books authors of all genres, including of course children’s books. The grand opening is July 3.