Today I get to share with you a project dear to my heart, which I have been working on in secret for a very long time. This year, for Christmas, I published my mom’s book. It is a chapter book for middle readers called Elephants, Aunts, and the Moon. I did all of the design, which included twenty-eight spot illustrations for the interior, and a pink and olive green cover. I had so much fun!
While working on this, I also had a chance to read the book for the first time. I absolutely loved it. It made me cry. Here is the synopsis:
It’s 1969, and sisters Emily and Katherine know one thing for certain: they are about to have THE WORST SUMMER OF THEIR LIVES. Their parents are getting divorced, and their mom has gone back to school, which means the girls are stuck for three whole months in boring Henderson, Minnesota with their great aunts, Loretta and Minerva. Older sister Emily can’t believe she has to spend her twelfth birthday far away from her friends. Younger sister Katherine is afraid that the spinster aunts won’t know how to get along with children. But a lot can change in three months. As the nation anxiously awaits the moon landing, the sisters learn that there is more to Henderson—and the Aunts—than meets the eye. A collection of elephant figures in the Aunts’ living room unravels a secret that might just change everyone’s lives forever.
I am so proud of my mom for writing this lovely, thoughtful book. I feel lucky to have had a hand in bringing it into the world. The book is available for sale on Amazon. I’ve also added a link to it in my online shop. Check out the photos below for a taste of what’s inside Elephants, Aunts, and the Moon—and then GO! HURRY! GET YOURSELF A COPY!
