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Don’t Close Your Eyes
Not exactly the message you would expect for a bedtime story! But this silly twist on the usual bedtime routine of drifting off to sleep, may be exactly the fun your little one will relish. A perfect length for the young crowd, this book, written in rhyme, woos the listener to STAY AWAKE and NOT TO CLOSE THEIR EYES. Bob Hostetler’s humor shines through the text throwing down the gauntlet of the bedtime challenge to sleep or not to sleep. Avoiding sleep is the goal of many a child. The narrator of Don’t Close Your Eyes, seems to fully agree with them – reverse psychology at it’s best! “You know…
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Edits for Life!
When writing children’s books, the first draft out onto the page is wild and romping. It’s like wild horses and raging rivers, flowing all over, moving, lyrical and singing in some areas, but clogged with log jams in others. The craft of writing comes in the edit. Rules for writing are abundant. Too many words. Remove adverbs. Too much description. No passive voice. Show don’t tell. Too black. Too white. Put the hook on the first page. Active verbs. Where’s the twist? Too much backstory . . . It can be overwhelming. The rules are GOOD when applied well. They clarify your story bringing out the very best. But if…
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Wash Their Feet
We just passed through Holy week and Easter. I keep thinking about Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper – The Passover. I can imagine the overall feel in the room, a mixture of love, fear and sorrow. These moments were the last Jesus would share with His disciples, before the crucifixion. What was the Last Lesson He would teach? Before they ate the Passover dinner together, Jesus, Who was all God, yet all man, stripped Himself of His outer garments, and humbled Himself as a servant. God Himself, knelt down, to love, to sacrifice, to touch the feet of common man. This was His last lesson for us. The Western Church…