Around the Year Once upon a Time Saints (Once Upon a Time Saints series)($22.95Value)

Description

Ethel Pochocki, whimsically and unforgettably, presents a new set of  heavenly friends to readers young and old in this third collection of  Once Upon a Time  Saints stories. Beginning in the dark of December, the start of the Church Year, there are stories and poems for each month, all bursting with saintly—not to mention angelic—deeds and happenings. Each tale or verse—whether of mystical apparitions in a tiny Irish village or of friars who float in the air or of entire countries single-handedly converted to Christianity—makes it quite plain that heaven doesn't keep to its place at all, but is happily determined to spill over into earthly life—here, there and . . . all around the year. Ages 10-up ETHEL POCHOCKI described herself as “an ordinary person” who happened to “make soup and raise kids and write stories.” These “stories” have included numerous books, tales, articles and poems for children and adults. Both the kitchen craft and the experience of raising children—eight of them—contributed to a whimsical, down-to-earth and understanding touch which has caused her stories to make such ready friends throughout the years. In a letter to Francis Phillips, then editor of the Catholic Family quarterly in England, she expressed how she felt about her work: “Maybe someday someone will reach for an old book published way back in the 20th century and find meaning in it. That’s a legacy. That’s the story of my life: eight children and a handful of books.” Ethel Pochocki was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, on September 17, 1925. Her passion for books and writing began during her years working for the New York City Library. As the mother of a growing family she took to writing in the early morning hours, with a contest-winning essay giving an official start to the articles, poems and stories that were delivered to the world—right up until her death in 2010—on a manual type-writer. From her home in Brooks, Maine, after her children were grown, she continued to concoct adventures with the ordinary but vivid ingredients of life—“books, cats, music, frogs, hollyhocks.” This knack for uncovering beauty, humor and meaning in the world of every day gained her recognition in the field of children’s literature with her numerous award- winning books, such as The Gazebo, Penny for a Hundred and Rosebud and Red Flannel, created in collaboration with Maine illustrator Mary Beth Owens. She was also honored by the Maine Library Association with the 2008 Katahdin Award and received the 1991 Lupine Award for outstanding children’s literature. While there was honor and recognition, there was also Ethel’s commitment to her art—and her ability to face into rejection slips and a publisher’s lack of interest with cheerful perseverance. Both dimensions formed the writer and the person. Francis Phillips writes, “. . . a published children’s author and poet, cookery writer and gardener . . . you could not get to know her without discovering the warm-hearted, generous and intensely alive woman behind these achievements.” Ethel Pochocki’s popular saint stories, now republished in the Once-Upon-a-Time Saints trilogy and Saints and Heroes, demonstrate another facet of her creative ability as she deftly and humorously opens a window into that place where heaven and earth meet in unique and intriguing ways. Her love and fascination for the saints was life-long, as she confessed: “I am always curious about what makes people holy.” In her early correspondence with Bethlehem Books she wrote: “I think everything blends together, nature, animals, humor, humans . . . like the Mystical Body . . .in showing ‘the grandeur of God’ . . . everything counts!” Ethel Pochocki died on December 1, 2010 at the age of 85. May the engaging and faith-filled humanity of her life and her work continue to delight children of all ages for many years to come. Around the Year Once Upon a Time Saints