Mossy

Picture book
One morning Jan Brett saw a huge snapping turtle with underwater
plants growing on its shell. She and her husband built a turtle pool
that would allow reptiles to hibernate, sun, and hide from predators.
Being an extremely talented writer and artist, she was inspired to
Mossy, a lovely tale for the rest of us.
Mossy is a young box turtle who lives at the edge of a pond.
Moss begins to grow on her shell. After awhile she's carrying around
ferns, wildflowers, and even wild strawberries. One day she is
captivated by a young male turtle, Scoot, with ruby red eyes...
...only to be discovered by Dr. Carolina, museum curator. A
fancy viewing pavilion is created with everything a turtle could need
except companionship. Poor Mossy is lonely, yearning for Scoot.
Fortunately Dr. Carolina's young niece, Tory, has begun to notice that
she looks sad. Read the book to see what happens.
Brett is a big time fan of all creatures great and small. The
flowers, mushrooms, frogs, insects, and other living things bright and
beautiful lavishly (but never overly) gracing Mossy's pages make this
book a true visual treasure. Check it out and enjoy the amazing
result of Brett's pond side epiphany.
On a personal note, it's the second weekend in a row Maine has had a
big old snow storm. The state looks like a picture postcard.
Families like mine benefit from the chance to earn more money. Lots
of families around here. The white stuff makes for great sledding.
I am strongly resisting the urge to do a shout out to Mother Nature.
There are people inconvenienced by the white stuff like Pastor Steve
who has had his congregation decimated two Sundays in a row. How
about a shout out to the legions of folks toiling even while we sleep
to keep us safe and able to get around?
Julia Emily Hathaway

Sent from my iPod