Does your child ever sit by themselves—alone and seemingly friendless?
In I Used to Be Shy, meet Carla, our self-appointed social committee of one, who makes everyone at summer camp feel welcome. Carla spots a shy new boy who hides from others in his cabin, closing his curtain. Carla follows her heart and gathers a small group of fellow campers to coax him out to play games. With Carla’s encouragement, our new camper builds up his self-confidence, loses his fear, and learns to enjoy his new friends.
The bonus song "Little Brown Pony" includes the lyrics and music notations as does "I Used to Be Shy."
Amy O'Hanlon's excellent Sister Butterfly illustrations show Carla approaching a favorite corner of her garden where she feels safe and happy. Her vigilant brother knows that Carla can create beautiful fantasies as she twirls around and round to music only she can hear, engaged in quiet conversation with the small creatures such as butterflies and her favorite flowers.
Mike Mirabella's children's book entitled Sister Butterfly, is a beautifully illustrated children's book based on a song from his 1998 CD entitled, Special People.
Mike wrote Sister Butterfly song years ago for his daughter, Carla, when she was three years old. The theme of Sister Butterfly centers on Mike's abiding love for his daughter with Down syndrome and for self-discovery and the transformation of the hearts that surround her.
Mike wrote in the song; "My sister is a butterfly who never learned to fly, ...”. Carla still wasn't walking or talking and Mike thought at the time, she would have little chance of accomplishing much of anything in her life. "How wrong I was; her life was a parade of accomplishments!” - Papa Mike.
Dr. Emmaline Cartwright is about to retire as a professor of history from an Eastern Ontario University. Though she’s led a successful career, she lingers in regret with an unfulfilled dream she’s held for herself for many years. Her sense of restlessness feels like an inner wound.
Emmaline’s yearnings are unexpectedly fulfilled when she discovers pages of a book written by Kate Robinson, a Loyalist woman from the eighteenth century. Within these pages, Kate tells of leaving America after the revolution to travel to a country that would eventually become Canada. Her love of both writing and her children sustains her when a betrayal causes her to journey back to the land she’d left behind.
Kate’s story becomes Emmaline’s obsession—and ultimately, her way forward. Each woman forges her own respective path, facing barriers and misfortunes. Though Emmaline and Kate occupy different eras, their stories are colored by similar hopes, fears, dreams, and tenacity.
Does your child ever sit by themselves—alone and seemingly friendless? In I Used to Be Shy, meet Carla, our self-appointed social committee of one, who makes everyone at summer camp feel welcome. Carla spots a shy new boy who hides from others in his cabin, closing his curtain. Carla follows her heart and gathers a small group of fellow campers to coax him out to play games. With Carla’s encouragement, our new camper builds up his self-confidence, loses his fear, and learns to enjoy his new friends. The bonus song "Little Brown Pony" includes the lyrics and music notations as does "I Used to Be Shy."
Amy O'Hanlon's excellent Sister Butterfly illustrations show Carla approaching a favorite corner of her garden where she feels safe and happy. Her vigilant brother knows that Carla can create beautiful fantasies as she twirls around and round to music only she can hear, engaged in quiet conversation with the small creatures such as butterflies and her favorite flowers. Mike Mirabella's children's book entitled Sister Butterfly, is a beautifully illustrated children's book based on a song from his 1998 CD entitled, Special People. Mike wrote Sister Butterfly song years ago for his daughter, Carla, when she was three years old. The theme of Sister Butterfly centers on Mike's abiding love for his daughter with Down syndrome and for self-discovery and the transformation of the hearts that surround her. Mike wrote in the song; "My sister is a butterfly who never learned to fly, ...”. Carla still wasn't walking or talking and Mike thought at the time, she would have little chance of accomplishing much of anything in her life. "How wrong I was; her life was a parade of accomplishments!” - Papa Mike.
Dr. Emmaline Cartwright is about to retire as a professor of history from an Eastern Ontario University. Though she’s led a successful career, she lingers in regret with an unfulfilled dream she’s held for herself for many years. Her sense of restlessness feels like an inner wound. Emmaline’s yearnings are unexpectedly fulfilled when she discovers pages of a book written by Kate Robinson, a Loyalist woman from the eighteenth century. Within these pages, Kate tells of leaving America after the revolution to travel to a country that would eventually become Canada. Her love of both writing and her children sustains her when a betrayal causes her to journey back to the land she’d left behind. Kate’s story becomes Emmaline’s obsession—and ultimately, her way forward. Each woman forges her own respective path, facing barriers and misfortunes. Though Emmaline and Kate occupy different eras, their stories are colored by similar hopes, fears, dreams, and tenacity.
