Spiritual Journey Thursday & Poetry Friday: Wintering in the Goodness of Children's Books

Kim is hosting our monthly Spiritual Journey gathering for December.

Thanks, Kim, for the warm endorsement of Katherine May's Wintering:The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. It seems like the kind of book that one would want to own in order to mark favorite passages. I'm adding it to my Christmas wish list. I enjoyed reading quotes from the book at goodreads and discovered this quote that definitely resonated with me:

 "I often turn to children's books at times like these, when I'm yearning to escape into a world that is beautifully rendered and complex, yet soothingly familiar."

 ― Katherine May Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times 

After writing my SJT post in November about some favorite children's books, my son sent me  The Mouse Who Carried a House on His Back.   

When I asked how he knew that I wanted it, he smugly replied, "I read your blog!" I shared it recently at a meeting of our church's service and activity groups.

I discovered Ruth Spiro's, One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olam Story at our neighborhood library on the new books table. The illustrations by Victoria Tentler-Krylov are exquisite, colorful, and life-affirming, leading the characters from the dark pages of a broken, problematic world to making a choice to repair the world. I loved this one so much that I bought it for myself. I think you'll want a copy too!

 

 

"Imagine everyone

gathering sparks,

opening their hearts,

and repairing our world

together." 

In staying with Kim's wintering theme, I am sharing four favorite picture books with a winter theme.

Before Morning by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes

The Snow Speaks by Nancy White Carlstrom, illlustrated by Jane Dyer

Snow by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Lauren Stringer

Winter is the Warmest Season written and illustrated by Lauren Stringer

 "In winter, bodies sit closer,

books last longer, and

hugs squeeze the warmest." 

 Kim's post was brim with words to love. I send you this poetic greeting lifted from her SJT post, with a couple of phrases added by me, for this Poetry Friday: 

A DECEMBER BLESSING

In this wintering season

may you be blessed with

rest,

full hope,

anticipation, 

warmth, 

peace, 

deep comfort,

golden silence, 

and space your heart needs 

to revel in books

in the sweet, snug nook of home,

in the nestled bliss

of nowhere else to be.

- Kim Johnson

Spiritual Journey, December 2024

Carol has this week’s Poetry Friday roundup at The Apples in My Orchard.