“All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world.”
—E.B. White
Hello, friend!
Gosh, I hope this works. I'm experimenting with moving my newsletter from Mailchimp to Flodesk. It's a bit daunting—I'm afraid this issue will wind up in your spam folder. But I'm loving the ease of Flodesk's workflow. Here's hoping this note reaches you safe and sound!
If you're seeing this: HAPPY JANUARY!
What a year it has been. I hope you've weathered it all right. My family is still hunkered down at home, venturing out only for walks in the neighborhood. I'm pining for museum visits, ramen shops, and my beloved Low Bar Chorale. But home is nice. I'm grateful we've all stayed healthy so far. You too, I hope!
Show-and-tell is my love language
I'm spending a lot less time on social media these days, which means more time for blogging, reading, and—rebooting this newsletter. It's a place for me to share links, stories, booknotes, and insights. (I've been known to have them occasionally.) Basically, this is my vehicle for show-and-tell. Here are a few tidbits I'm excited to share with you this month.
✨ Stitching words: Not long ago, my friend Edith sent me the E.B. White quote at the top of this note. I felt an immediate kinship with it and am stitching it up as an embroidery project. I've discovered that I absolutely love stitching handwriting. (It's more legible than my actual handwriting!)
✨ Fun author news: Julie DenOuden, teacher and blogger at Girl on the Move, recently launched a Youtube channel for middle-grade book reviews. For her very first episode, she interviewed me about my research process for The Nerviest Girl in the World. Her channel is tons of fun—check it out!
✨ Celebrating my friends: Not long ago, my pal Bobbie Herron launched her delightful sketching guidebook, Look at That! Discover the Joy of Seeing by Sketching. In the opening chapter, she makes a promise: "You might be on the verge of falling in love—with looking, with seeing, with sketching." She delivers on this promise! And her book is the matchmaker. There's a lot of wisdom embedded in it ("Are you having fun yet, or are you still striving to do this perfectly?"), and the exercises for seeing and sketching speak as much to mindset as they do to skill.
✨ Recently on the blog: Twyla Tharp and Mary Oliver helped me explore my three selves in “Fields everywhere invite you into them.”
✨ Homeschooling adventures: We're getting back into the groove this month after a long holiday break. Huck is having a marvelous time learning his way around a Raspberry Pi with the 42 Electronics Robotics kit my parents gave him for Christmas. Rilla is absorbed with her new microscope, and she's doing a lot of drawing in Procreate. Current readaloud: A Wrinkle in Time.
Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear from you—just hit the reply button.
Cheers,
Melissa
P.S. I'm currently booking virtual school visits for spring and fall. If you're interested or know a teacher who might be, click here!
