The Little Stories That Could

I’m usually sorry to see May come to an end. It’s probably my favorite month, what with my birthday, my husband’s birthday, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and graduations all combining for what’s practically a 31-day celebration. Adding to those pleasures is the pure delight of warm sunshine, fresh air and beautiful foliage that make spring in Michigan worth waiting for. The forsythia, lilacs, redbud, tulip trees and flowering fruit trees have been just spectacular this year.

But for once I’ve had a special reason to be in a hurry for June to arrive. On June 1, Pauline Books & Media released their new short story collection, Friend 2 Friend. It’s for kids ages 8-12 and includes 12 different stories about (surprise!) friendship. Mine are “The Challenge,” about two boys on a bike race, and “Friends in Deed,” about a girl who discovers an essential truth about friendship while babysitting.

Both stories originally appeared in “My Friend” magazine. It was exciting at the time but I never expected either of them to be heard from again. Nor did I dream they would be my ticket to eventual book publication. The editor of Friend 2 Friend—Diane Lynch—is the one who approached me about writing a novel for that age group, and now Anna Mei: Cartoon Girl is on the fast track for a June 2010 release.

So you could say it all started with these two stories, and I’m delighted that they will be read by a much wider audience now. How wide remains to be seen, of course! I will receive a small number of contributor copies, which I plan to donate to local schools and libraries. If teachers and students like the book, maybe those small seeds will grow into larger sales.

In the meantime, you can read more about Friend 2 Friend on the PBM blog. It already has two reviews there. It's available for sale at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and for anyone who does decide to order a copy, please consider registering at those sites to leave your own reviews (unless you don’t like it, of course, in which case you should feel free not to share your opinion with the world!).

So this year, here’s to June—a month almost as wonderful as May—and to the success of Friend 2 Friend, which I hope all the tweens in your life will love. And most of all, I’ll raise a glass (of lemonade, naturally) to those two little stories that could.