Emily's Book Shelf and Children's Book Week

Happy Children's Book Week! In honor of the week and my niece Emily, who lost her battle with cancer last summer, the Westlake Public Library in Ohio has launched Emily's Book Shelf.

It's an online book club for kids grades 3-8, so they can talk about the books they love---as our talkative, book-loving, enthusiastic Emily did all the time. I remember her at my kitchen table, seriously debating the merits of various book choices with her mom, Debbie. The two of them were in a Mother-Daughter Book Club for two years. Thank you to the wonderful people at Westlake's Porter Public Library for putting this site together!

Also in the good news department, my brother, John, (Emily's dad) reports that the construction of Flying Horse Farms (a Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for kids with serious illnesses) is going well. The camp will open for limited family weekends this fall. At that time,  the books that all of you were so generous in donating will be out of boxes and in the hands of campers. When Flying Horse Farms is completely up and operational, we'll be looking for more ways to provide books for the week-long camper visits. You can read more about Emily and the Flying Horse Farms connection here.

One idea I bounced around with John was a sponsored author visit to Flying Horse Farms once or twice a summer. What would you all think of that? Any collective wisdom on where to begin, what to consider, and how to make this idea successful?

Give sorrow words

“Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart, and bids it break." ~William Shakespeare

That quote was a tweet from TAPS4America yesterday. I've been struggling with how to resume blogging here, battling the "what does it matter?" blues. But that quote made me think: if I don't speak about Emily's funeral here on the blog, then I won't be able to keep writing here at all. And I want to keep in honest communication with you. So . . .

a few things I have words for:

Emily was buried with treasures she loved, including a purple hot wheels car, both halves of an "I love you/I love you more" necklace, and a tattered copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

My brother ended his eulogy with this laugh-inducing tribute: when the rest of us get to heaven, Emily will greet us with a brilliant smile and sing out: "Hi, peeps! It's Emily! Heaven is so coolio!"

This was my son's first funeral. We sat together and talked about life and death and love. Emily made that conversation possible, her first of many blessings to me after her passing.

Flying Horse Farms, a "magical, transforming and fun" camp for kids with serious illnesses, will open for family campers next fall. Emily and her dad were scheduled to speak at the groundbreaking ceremony, but Emily was too weak to go, and my brother tried to stay home with her. Emily would have none of it. She insisted that he attend, and he shared her words with those gathered: "Dad, there is no best part of camp. It's ALL good."

Flying Horse Farms Groundbreaking from Jennifer Kerns on Vimeo.

Then, on their last drive from the hospital in Cinncinnati to her home in Cleveland, my brother pulled over the car at the groundbreaking site. Again, Emily was too weak to leave the car. But she saw where the camp would be, just as she saw how the world could be different, a world without childhood cancer, and worked to make that world come to life, just like the magic in her beloved books.

Above one of the stalls in the Flying Horse Farms stable will be the name of Emily Lewis.

Kids can change the world. Emily did. She still is.

Thank you for listening.

Emily the Beautiful

Friends,

My dear niece, Emily, is entering hospice care.  She is funny, brave, beautiful, and dedicated; she also possesses the biggest, most generous heart you could ever imagine.  Please pray for her and her family while they live off love in the forthcoming days.

Thank you all,

Sara

Books Bought for Flying Horse Farms Library

Here's what I bought with the money from the I Love Libraries comment challenge:

• Horses and Ponies (Kingfisher Riding Club) - Sandy Ransford $18.95 - Quantity: 1

• First Riding Lessons (RIDING CLUB) - Sandy Ransford $11.06 - Quantity: 1

• Archery (Backyard Games) - Steve Boga $9.31 - Quantity: 1

• Horse Handling & Grooming: A Step-By-Step Photographic Guide to Mastering over 100 Horsekeeping Skills (Horsekeeping Skills Library) - Cherry Hill $13.57 - Quantity: 1

• Cherry Hill's Horse Care for Kids: Grooming, Feeding, Behavior, Stable & Pasture, Health Care, Handling & Safety, Enjoying - Cherry Hill $11.53 - Quantity: 1

• Nature's Art Box: From t-shirts to twig baskets, 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere - Laura C. Martin $11.53 - Quantity: 1

Thank you all so much for supporting me and Flying Horse Farms!

Here's a picture of Emily and her dad looking at plans for the groundbreaking ceremony on June 13. You can follow along at the new FHF Camp Journal blog.

Dear Commenters and Campers

To my 78 (!!!!) commenters on the Library-Loving Challenge,

Thank you so much. It only took a moment to comment, but your words will last much longer than that. The money raised ( $78!) is enough for me to purchase several books from the Flying Horse Farms Wishlist.  I will lovingly tuck a copy of all of your comments between the covers, and your words will trot off to find new friends.

Gratefully yours,

Sara

Here is a sampling of the words that will greet the future campers and readers at the Flying Horse Farms Library:

Dear Campers,

Here's to books and horses and kids (young and old) who love both!

Because of YOU, I see horses everywhere I go, and every horse book I see, I want to buy and send your way. 
Keep smiling!

There's no such thing as too many horses, too many books, or too many books about horses.

May your love of reading and riding inspire you to create a story all your own! Happy Trails.

A book is a buddy you can take in the house when the horse stays in the barn! 

Ride on! Read away!

Giddyup libraries!

I read Black Beauty when I was very young and it broke my heart. I wanted to save every horse in the world. There is something about horses and books - or horse stories in books. You have Beauty and My Friend Flicka and National Velvet and The Black Stallion and Misty of Chincoteague and on and on. You could have a library just of horse stories! (Not that you have to, but you could.... :)

Campers, enjoy the horses and the books. Just not at the same time, no reading while riding.

When I was a teenager, my brother rode horses pretty seriously but I didn't. Sometimes I'd go along with him just to kill time - pet the horses noses and curl up on the hay with a book. Occasionally, I could ride and he'd teach me some basics. And it was fun. But one day, I got to gallop - to really let the horse loose on a big stretch of field. Wow! It was absolutely amazing being part of that speed and energy. I hope you find some of that excitement at camp and can take it home with you to remember for a long time.

May you find joy, laughter and the freedom of being yourselves at this wonderful camp. Hurray for horses and great books!

Campers, may the book you're meant to read find you! Enjoy the horses, the outdoors, and the world of the imagination.

Enjoy every moment! Ride like the wind. :~)

Jennifer Hubbard will have a round-up of the results of all the Library-Loving Challenges, so watch for that. Some challenges are still open through April 1, so click over and support more libraries!

Library Loving Challenge: Reading and Riding Rock!

This post is dedicated to Melodye, who suggested that I join writerjenn's Library Loving Challenge to benefit the Flying Horse Farms library. 

The challenge is simple: you comment, I donate. For every comment I receive on this post between now and midnight (EST) on March 28th, I'll donate $1 toward buying books from this Wishlist for Flying Horse Farms, a camp for kids with serious illnesses.*  And the really fun part?

Direct your comments not to me, but to THE KIDS who will enjoy the library at camp.  Leave them a message:  "Have fun!"  "You're great!" "Reading and Riding Rock!"  Anything.   I'll pass the comments on to the future campers at Flying Horse Farms. (This was also Melodye's idea. Isn't she brilliant?)

For more about my quest to build the library, see my post here.  (You're also welcome to buy a book directly off the Wishlist. Or spread the word far and wide. Thank you!)  

Ready, set . . .   COMMENT!

*Challenge donations are per unique commenter. ($1 for each person who comments)

Podcast: Just One More Book Features Flying Horse Farms

Just One More Book has a beautifully produced podcast today about my quest to build a library at Flying Horse Farms, a camp for kids with serious illnesses.  Mark Blevis talks to Patrick Smith, the director of the camp, and to me about our involvement in the project.  

I'm so grateful to both Andrea and Mark of Just One More Book for the opportunity to spread the word.

Here's the link so you can listen now (or download and listen later.)

And here, again, are the links for

the Amazon wishlist

my original post about Flying Horse Farms 

my post about building the library 

and the bloggers who helped me spread the word.

:60 PSA for Flying Horse Farms from Donna Raque on Vimeo.

Off and galloping!

The Flying Horse Farms library is off and galloping! I've updated the original post, but I also wanted to share some pictures of Emily and roundup all the links (so far) to posts from around the Kidlitosphere.



Thank you so much to those who've blogged about it:

Little Willow

What Adrienne Thinks About That

7-Impossible Things Before Breakfast: 7 Reasons to Go Buy or Blog about a Horse Book Today

Write For a Reader

Jen Robinson

Jama at Alphabet Soup

Loree Griffin Burns: On Books and Horses (and the cutest picture!)

Cloudscome at A Wrung Sponge: The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby

The Miss Rumphius Effect: When Buying a Book Means Making a Difference

Running After My Hat: Celebrity Horse Moments (Bogus Edition)

Semicolon: Horsey Books

The Old Coot: Books For a Good Cause

Kane/Miller Books

The Reading Tub

Books, Horses and Camp: A Way to Give Thanks and Give Back

My niece, Emily, has been battling cancer for over two years now. But that's not all she's been doing. She's modeled in a show for Flashes of Hope, raised money for Rainbow Hospital and starred in a video for Flying Horse Farms.  I feel downright lazy next to her.

So here's what I'm doing:  starting a library of camp and horse related books for Flying Horse Farms.  Flying Horse Farms is a magical, transforming and fun camp for children with serious illnesses and their families. It's an Ohio based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and working to become a member of Hole in the Wall Camps, the world’s largest family of camps for children with serious illnesses.   

I talked with the director, and he said that rather than one central library, he would love to have books available at several spots around the camp---the stables, the craft room, the main activity hall, the cabins, maybe even the dining hall.

The books would be...

For kids to read while they wait for their turn on a horse.

For kids who suddenly discover they love pottery or archery or fishing and want to know everything about it. 

For kids to share and discuss a cool quote or an inspirational person during nightly reflection times.

For kids who need a fast idea for a drama skit, or a nature craft, or a easy recipe.

For kids who need to rest.

For kids who love to read.

For kids who are kids and want to be kids and must be kids even if a serious illness complicates their lives.

If you want to help, here are some suggestions:

• I've set up a wish list on Amazon.  You can choose a book and donate it directly from there.  The list is small now, but it will grow as the campers and counselors and the director add new requests to it.

• You may also buy from that list at your local independent bookstore and have them ship to the address below.  

• You can blog about your favorite camp or horse related book. I'll round up those posts here, plus forward them to the director and consult them in expanding the Wish List. (Little Willow already did this. Thanks, LW!) Feel free to copy this entire post or use the button I'm putting in my sidebar.

• If you're an author or illustrator or publisher or blogger with a camp or horse related book, you can donate directly to the camp, but please remember that the camp serves kids ages 7-15  and your donation should reflect the needs of the camp. (Please, in all cases, only NEW books.)
  
  Questions?  Email me at:  email@saralewisholmes.com

Here's a list of activities at camp:

Arts & Crafts
Painting
Woodworking
Pottery
Boating
Fishing
Swimming
Horses
Cooking
Ropes
Adventure (teambuilding)
Nature
Sports & Games
Music
Drama

Fiction is also welcome, but at this time, we're concentrating on stories with horses in them. Once the camp is fully up and running, I'll add other fiction requests from the campers and counselors.   

The address for donations:

Flying Horse Farms
225 Green Meadows Drive South, Suite A
Lewis Center, Ohio 43035

Website: Flying Horse Farms

Thank you! 

Edited to add: Many of you have emailed privately to say you're supporting FHF, and I thank you profoundly.  

Bloggers who've posted about Flying Horse Farms:

Little Willow

What Adrienne Thinks About That

7-Impossible Things Before Breakfast: 7 Reasons to Go Buy or Blog about a Horse Book Today

Write For a Reader

Jen Robinson

Jama at Alphabet Soup

Cloudscome at A Wrung Sponge:  The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby

The Miss Rumphius Effect: When Buying a Book Means Making a Difference

Running After My Hat: Celebrity Horse Moments (Bogus Edition)

Semicolon: Horsey Books

The Old Coot: Books For  a Good Cause

Flying Horse Farms

I love this Public Service Announcement, and not just because my niece stars in it. Look for her snatching the hat, jumping into the pool, and dancing. She's a natural actress. You ROCK, Emily!!!


:60 PSA for Flying Horse Farms from Donna Raque on Vimeo.

For more information on how to help go to: Flying Horse Farms.

Flying Horse Farms is a provisional member of the Paul Newman "Hole in the Wall Gang" network of camps for kids with serious illnesses. They hope to open in 2009.

From their website:

Camp is not only a place for children who are terminally ill, but also a place where children who will survive their illnesses can grow and develop the skills necessary to thrive for the rest of their lives.

At Flying Horse Farms, these same children learn what they can do, not what they cannot do. Camp is a place where we focus on the possible, a place where kids can just be kids. Campers serve as role models for one another and begin to see themselves, often for the first time, not as victims, but as strong and capable leaders.

Amen to that.