MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
Last summer, two graduates of
Brainerd High School in Minnesota had a stroke of inspiration when catching up
over coffee. B. A. Norrgard had been living the tiny life for six years when
the idea struck that how would downsizing and going tiny might look through the
eyes of a child.
B.A.
Norrgard’s personal lifestyle and career within the tiny house community gave
her insight about the nationwide movement. She teaches others and leads by
example.
Becky
Flansburg is an award-winning writer and wondered if “going tiny” might be
scary for a child. Rebecca is
the long-time project manager of Multicultural Children’s Book Day and Head Elf
for Audrey Press. She
is a member of Brainerd Writers Alliance and readers can also find her at
BeckyFlansburg.com or on Instagram.
They both
used their imaginations and talents as they discussed a possible story, and the
idea for this innovative book began. They wanted children to know living life unconventionally
is full of big possibilities.
You have probably seen some of the
popular TV and Netflix shows about living in less space, downsizing, and
repurposing. Norrgard says when preparing for such a lifestyle, keep only items
that serve a purpose, meet a need or bring joy.
Norrgard’s
Tiny House is named Sisu to help remember her mother. Sisu is a Finnish word
and means having grit, determination, and perseverance. She needs plenty of
that to live in her hand-built 78 square foot home. She has traveled over 14,000 miles with her house and writes about her minimalist,
vegan life on her website, banorrgard.com.
Sisu sort of sounds like the name,
Sissy. So, the main character of the book is Sissy. She is eight years old.
During the story, she learns stuff is just stuff. Somehow illustrator Penny
Weber knew just what she looked like, and was perfect for the project. Don’t
you agree?
Often our
lessons in elementary school (yes, I’m saying it again) for children end at recycling. Downsizing,
repurposing, and tiny living are not usually mentioned. This book is unique. It
was brilliant of Norrgard and Flansburg to come up with the idea and see it
through to completion.
Would you be
able to decided what to take with and what to leave?
· Title: Sissy Goes Tiny
by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard
· Publisher: Audrey Press
(CEO Valarie Budayr)
· ISBN: 978-1-936426-22-5
· This project was
supported by Five Wings Arts Council with funds from the McKnight Foundation.
