Like many people I feel a sigh of relief for reaching the longest, darkest day of the year in okay shape. Friends and books make such a difference.

I appreciated a recent Rochester Democrat and Chronicle article about the Oneida Nation unveiling a 10’ x 200’ mural on Wynn Hospital’s exterior wall in Utica, New York. Reporter Amy Neff Roth’s article gave a good overview of the history of that area since white settlements, pre-contact history, and changes since the 2013 Oneida Indian Nation’s legal settlement. Well done!

For my work-in-progress, Rochester’s South Avenue District, I’ve been re-reading books to refresh the credits. Two were by the late Emerson Klees: The Crucible of Ferment: New York’s “Psychic Highway,” (2001) and his Iroquois Confederacy: History and Legends, (2003).

Today, I am glad to honor the memories of the late Pete Dobrovitz and Emerson Klees. Pete’s book, “Rochestrivia” from 1984, was what got me started on learning about the Rochester area decades ago. His book led to me to local authors Henry Clune, Arch Merrill and Emerson Klees.

After reading a financial tips article about cleaning out computer files, I looked through what I have in my computer folders. My search led me to a 200-page timeline history, “History in Our Backyards,” from May 2005. This whole paper was done before my first book, “Rochester’s South Wedge” came out that September. Wow.

For book lovers, going to the Rochester Children's Book Festival is like a cross between dying and going to heaven, and a game show where you get to run around and pick out as many books as you like. The hard part of course, is choosing what to buy. This year, I chose YOU SHOULD MEET: Lin-Manuel Miranda (2018) by Laurie Calkhoven, illustrated by Alyssa Petersen. This is a fun, fast and easy read with plenty of good information about his life and accomplishments.

St.  Therese of Lisieux: A Transformation in Christ (2001) by Thomas Keating is one of those little books that should be read slowly. Not feeling very patient, I read through its 74 pages in two bites it was so enticing.

The six short chapters were her take on familiar tales: the publican and the pharisee, the mustard seed, the leaven, the barren fig tree and the prodigal son. Reading one chapter was such a surprise, I eagerly read the others.

I’m still reading, but it’s been hard to put thoughts into words, pencil to paper, fingers to the keyboard as this election season draws to a close. The pressure to escape the news is wearing. It could also be a low after the high of giving two classroom presentations last Friday for Rochester Children’s Book Festival to Go, and last Saturday, the reading of my play by Rochester Community Players at the MUCCC, of “When the Piper Visits and the Piper Plays.” What a thrill! Thanks to the cast for bringing my words to life.

Years ago when I visited Washington D. C., my family and I went to the National Museum of the American Indian where I saw a marvelous sculpture of a native warrior, a native woman and a recognizable George Washington. As I finished reading Daniel Koch’s Land of the Oneidas: Central New York State and the Creation of America from Prehistory to the Present, I read that in 2004, the Oneida Nation gave a 2,200-pound bronze sculpture to the museum  called “Allies in War, Partners in Piece.”

Rochester Community Players Showcase has accepted my one-act play, “When the Piper Visits and the Piper Plays.” Yeah! The Showcase runs from Wednesday Oct. 9 through Oct. 13 at the Multi-Use Community Cultural Center (MuCCC), 142 Atlantic Avenue. The performance of Piper and other short works will be Saturday Oct. 12 starting at 2 p.m.

In Elf Dog & Owl Head by M. T. Anderson, a Newbery Honor book, a boy, Clay, confined during a world-wide illness, found a mysterious dog that took him to hidden worlds and dangers. It was a classic adventure quest, in strange places behind familiar settings, where rocks could be slumbering giants and the other side of a lake could be a land of promise. Illustrations by Junyi Wu, helped defined the obstacles and odd characters.

My latest book, Rochester’s South Wedge Revisited, looks fabulous as an eBook. It’s in color and is very readable on a larger device.

Continuing with the Crystal Kite Awards, one of the New England Honor books was Whatever Comes Tomorrow by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa. This colorful and uplifting book had a splendid blend of words and images to handle anxiety. So helpful.

The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators gives the annual Crystal Kite Award to recognize great books from the 70 SCBWI regions around the world. It is the only peer-given award in publishing for young readers.

Now that I have finished reading all 100 Newbery Award winners, I’m on to reading several of the latest Crystal Kite award winners. In an imperfect launch of my latest book, I got a proof of the black and white paperback, Rochester’s South Wedge Revisited. At first it was disappointing because some of the images were fuzzy, but, the big BUT, what I could see of the color eBook sample was fabulous. We downloaded the eBook but have not succeeded in  opening it. Those techno glitches. Oy!

Evanna DiSalvo, branch manager at the Frederick Douglass Community Library in my neighborhood, just told me she has placed an order for my latest book, Rochester’s South Wedge Revisited. I’ve been waiting to get a print copy in the mail before announcing it. Early yay!

I made it through last week’s heat wave and storms reading my way toward the end of the Newbery Award winners. The 2017 winner, The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, wove a fascinating web of lies, deceptions, betrayals and truths.

I started to blog as a sanity saver on Jan. 3, 2022 and decided to read all 100 Newbery Award winners about a year and a half ago. As I near the countdown to 100, I’m at 2016, I can’t believe what a wide variety of books I’ve read, and I’m starting to read books from the year they were awarded.