Please welcome author Marianne Jones to my Guest Author Post on Jemsbooks blog.
It is a pleasure to have you here, Marianne, and learn more about you and your books. Please share a little about yourself with my readers.
Marianne Jones is a retired teacher, mother of two, grandmother, and award-winning writer. She is the author of The Land of Mogan, a fantasy-adventure for junior-age children, Great-Grandma’s Gifts, a picture book for primary-age children, Here, on the Ground, a prize-winning collection of poems, and The Serenity Stone Murder, a cozy mystery set in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Marianne’s work has appeared in Room, The Globe and Mail, Wascana Review, Canadian Living, Reader’s Digest, Prairie Journal, The Danforth Review, and numerous others. She is a member of the League of Canadian Poets and The Writers Union of Canada.
Find Marianne on the Web:
https://facebook.com/MarianneJonesAuthor
https://goodreads.com/author/show/8081354.Marianne Jones
Arlene is a little girl who loves to make things. She begins by making presents for her doll, Maggie. As she grows up, she moves on to creating gifts for her own children and grandchildren. This is a lovely story that is designed to help children see a different side of the elders in their lives and understand that they were once children, too.
Here’s what people are saying about Great-Grandma’s Gifts:
I loved it! A sweet book about a mother/grandmother/great-grandmother’s love for her family and how she uses her talents to create loving memories to give to each generation. The illustrations are especially enjoyable. Susan M. Toy, Reading Recommendations
Great-Grandma’s Gifts is exactly the kind of book that little girls will remember reading with their moms when they are older. It’s cute and it’s soft…but it’s not ‘just’ cute and soft; there are deeper currents here involving family and love and generations and life itself. Get it, read it and then put it high enough on the shelf so that the kids can’t rip it. You’re going to want to hold onto this one for them. Paul Bachmeier, author of Barley the Elephant.
Great-Grandma’s Gifts is a wonderful book for children. Written to be both sentimental and entertaining, with colorful illustrations included. I really like how much of a personal nature this book has to it. Highly recommended to the younger generation of book lovers. Marina Konrad.
It’s a personal story that really connects with people. Jones has a way of making her own experiences relate across the boards. Grandmothers everywhere should pick this up to read to their grandchildren. And keep on-hand as yet another gift to pass down. Scott E. Chasty
A beautiful tribute to a creative mom with creative daughters….the aspect on aging is quite well done. Passed it on… Gayle Willoughby.
This is a very sweet story about a girl who loved to sew that grew up to be a great-grandmother. The illustrations are gorgeous. I really like how some of the words reflect what is being said (red is red, striped is striped, etc…). I really liked this because a lot of times kids don’t think of adults as being children at one time! I teach early elementary and this will be a great addition to my classroom library. Jayna
This is a sweet, lovely little book. The writing rolls off the tongue and I can see how easy it would be to read aloud to a child. Very nice. By timber9762 “timber9762” (Amazon reviewer.)
Sweet generational story of grandma showing and passing on her love of pieces of fabric and sewing not just pieced quilts, but also clothing and soft cuddly remembered toys. Simple drawings and colors for a toddler to point and name and recognize. Albuquerque
(Amazon reviewer.)
My daughter and I read this book together. My daughter will be going into grade two this fall and found it a great read for her. She read most of it on her own with some help from myself so it helped challenge her but also help with words she already knows.
My daughter loved the pictures and she thought it was really neat that Grandma was busy making clothes, toys and beautiful quilts for her children and grand children. We both enjoyed the font that were coloured different sizes. Some were also striped or polka dots. A great book to read with kids. I love that after all the years of making wonderful gifts that Grandma decided to take a rest at the lake!
My daughter and I give this book 5 stars! Jennifer Levac, book blogger www.genuinejenn.com
How I Came to Write Great-Grandma’s Gifts
Sewing was both my mother’s creative outlet, and a means of economizing. She delighted in her ten grandchildren, but didn’t have the funds to spoil them with expensive presents. So with her talent for sewing and her accumulation of fabric scraps from years of dressmaking, she began making countless dolls and stuffed animals, toys and nativity sets to delight herself and her grandkiddies. A favourite of my children was a fuzzy peach-coloured cat they promptly named “Peachy Keen.” Soon, all the grandchildren had to have their own Peachy Keens. Peachy was more cool than Barbie.
Alas, even grandchildren, like their parents before them, grow up into adults. My mother cast about for a way to continue expressing her love with thread and needle. When she saw a picture of a Victorian crazy quilt, she knew she had found her niche. She set about making wedding quilts for each grandchild from her growing collection of silk and velvet scraps donated by friends and family. When my oldest daughter worked in the wardrobe department of the Shaw Festival, she collected the discarded scraps of exquisite costuming materials to mail to her grandmother. Those scraps became part of her new art form.
When my long-awaited first granddaughter was born, I wanted her to grow up knowing about her great-grandmother, and her legacy of creativity, thrift, and love of children. I enlisted my sister’s help as a watercolour artist, and “Great Grandma’s Gifts” was the result. But I think it’s about more than our mother. I hope it speaks to a time when people expressed love, not by buying things, but through the gifts of time, patience, and the work of their hands and hearts.
Great-Grandma Gifts can be purchased from Amazon.
Other links for Marianne’s mystery: The Serenity Stone Murder.
Thank you, Marianne, for sharing your lovely story behind your books. You were fortunate to have such a talented and generous grandmother. Through your books you will be able to capture her spirit for generations to come. How beautiful!
Thank you, readers, for stopping by. I am sure you enjoyed reading about this talented and creative author as much as I did. Please visit her sites to purchase her books.
REMEMBER: READING GIVES YOU WINGS TO FLY!
Blessings:
-Janice-
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Fantastic interview. Sigh. Another intriguing book and not enough time. 😦 ❤
I know the author of this book, so getting it was an exciting thing for me. She does a great job. Thanks
That is great! Thank you stopping by my blog.