As owner of Honest Dog Books in Bayfield, Julie Buckles is committed to encouraging kids to develop a love for books and reading. With a newly-expanded store and space for a children’s reading corner, Buckles is excited to celebrate the upcoming Children’s Book Week (May 6-12) with special programming for kids — and interested adults — hosting author Kelsey Gross to read her newest children’s book “Summer: A Solstice Story.”
Gross will be part of an event open to the public at 6 p.m. May 9 at the store, as well as participating in special programs for the Bayfield Head Start and Bayfield Elementary School second grade classes.
“It’s exciting to be part of sparking a deeper connection between books and kids,” Buckles said. “We try to stock books that get young children, middle readers and teens excited about books. We are lucky to have April Lehman, a children’s book specialist, on staff to help us select the best picture books.”
Author Gross, who lives near Houghton, Mich., is also an early childhood educator, bringing her knowledge of child development to her delightful picture books.
Gross said she had loved books as a child, writing poems and stories, but in her early adult years spent her writing life on research reports and grant proposals working for non-profits. When she switched careers into early childhood education, her passion for children’s books was rekindled.
“When I got involved in early childhood education, I fell back in love with children’s picture books,” she said. “The way text and pictures emotionally resonate is critical for children, as is the important connections that are made when an adult reads with a child.”
She increasingly found herself wanting to write stories like the ones she had loved as a youngster, and took a workshop to help jumpstart her creative process.
She found the inspiration for her first picture book “Winter: A Solstice Story” while cross-country skiing in the moonlight.
“I started thinking about the solstice and asked myself: How would woodland animals celebrate a solstice?”
She found an agent who loved her story and in turn, a publisher who paired her with award-winning children’s illustrator Renata Liwska.
“I was so excited to find out Renata would be illustrating the book,” Gross said. “I am a big fan of her work. She did an amazing job bringing the scenes to life.”
Liwska also illustrated the newest summer solstice book.
‘I hadn’t really planned two solstice books,” Gross said with a laugh, “but after the first book was published, a friend of mine said ‘Why not write a summer solstice book?’ which seemed so obvious, but I hadn’t thought of it.”
Gross said she returned to the same characters and setting found in the winter book for the summer story and put herself into the sensory space of the summer woods.
“I thought about the muggy air, ripe red berries, and blooming flowers. And I thought about what happens in the summer, which is a time when animals often are sending off their young, and I thought about the hopes parents have for their youngsters.”
Gross said she is looking forward to her day at Honest Dog Books. The Head Start children will get to sing songs (Gross is also a songwriter), participate in a craft session making a flower crown and play animal-themed guessing games. Each Head Start student will leave with a signed copy of “Summer: A Solstice Story.”
The second graders will be treated to reading, games and songs as well as having the opportunity to create artwork that will be on display at the store. Each of the second-grade classrooms will receive a signed book.
In the evening, families are invited to a 6 p.m. reading and interactive time with Gross in the store.
Gross says though she hopes the children she interacts with get something from her time with her, she always is enriched by spending time with young people. She hopes that by having conversations around her book and the natural world she can help children’s developing connections to nature and planting the seed of taking care of the Earth.
“Kids are so wise and such complex thinkers,” she said. “They can dig into surprisingly hard topics and have deep conversations.”
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