No really, it’s officially Dolly Parton Day here in Ohio.
A few weeks ago I took a walk at Wingfoot Lake State Park. You may recall I went there last summer to see the Goodyear blimps on their 100th anniversary.
There were no blimps on this trip, alas. The park was just as gorgeous, though. An interesting thing I have discovered about myself is that I really love the look of bodies of water.
I mean. Just look at that. Fantastic.
Trees and water and water and trees. A+ nature right there.
One other thing that’s cool about Wingfoot is that they have a Storybook Trail. These are really neat places that have picture book pages along an accessible path so families can go from page to page and check out the story. If you have young kids, this is a cool thing to do when the weather’s nice.
They change the books on the trails from time to time. Last month when I went it was This Beach Is Loud! by Samantha Cotterill. We actually have this book at home! It’s about a kid with sensory issues who takes a trip to the beach with his dad. But of course, the beach is loud. And also sandy. And hot. But exciting! And loud. As a family with several sensory issues hopping about, we found this a relatable and fun read.
We got it through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program.
All four of our kids received books from “Aunt Dolly”, as we called her. Each one was a good pick, and there was such impressive diversity of experiences, books, people, thoughts — any really young child in your life would benefit from being signed up for the program.
That’s one of the reasons I’m participating in a fundraiser during the month of September to benefit The Dollywood Foundation.
There’s not a lot of September left, but there’s still plenty of time to pick up a short story collection or a novel and know that at least part of your money is going toward a good cause!
(I am not necessarily a good cause but I do appreciate your money also.)
These three are available in both paperback and Kindle editions:
If you’re localish and would rather come buy off me in person (or just pop by and say hi), the next opportunity to do so is THIS SATURDAY, September 26, at the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library for their Fall For the Book Author Fair.
The next two opportunities for in-person shenanigans are the Curiosities & Cryptids Festival put on by Black Cat Books & Oddities on October 3 and the Chardon Cryptids & Curios event on October 17. Yes, they are both cryptid-themed events. YES, I’m very excited for them.
I hope your fall is filled with excellent things, spooky reads, and maybe a little bit of me. 😉
Leave a Reply