I celebrated my first Advent Season many years ago, while I was teaching art at an Episcopal Day School. Among other things, we lit a candle at the beginning of each day. At this time, I still like to light candles during Advent, but lighting candles is not an Advent must. As I have said…
Category: Christmas
In Genesis, We Are Told that God Created the World — What Does that Say about God?
Last year, in honor of the publication of my debut picture book, The Donkey’s Song, I launched an Advent program that I hope to enlarge every year. Very briefly, Advent is a way of preparing for Christmas–one day at a time–and it begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. People celebrate Advent in several ways….
Jacki Kellum Wishes Everyone A Merry Christmas – from Her Studio, The Donkey’s Song, and Mrs. Cow
“She wears socks that jing-a-ling To wear on Christmas Day.” Mrs. Cow Decorating Her Christmas tree. – Jacki Kellum illustration. I’ll let you in on a little secret: I am Mrs. Cow. No doubt about it, 2022 has been one of the grandest joy rides of my life. Here’s a bit of inspiration for late…
Should Picture Book Writers Write Memoirs? YES!
Every Writer Should Write Memoirs. News Flash: The Donkey’s Song stemmed from my memoir writing. That Donkey is me! Yesterday, I asked my Memoir Mondays people to draw a map of their childhood neighborhoods. If you study my map closely, you can see that my childhood home was within walking distance of the foundation blocks of…
The Donkey’s Song Is A Picture Book about the Dark versus the Light
I have been busy getting my curriculum ready for the class that I’ll be teaching this fall at my local college. Along the way, I decided to share some of that class online via social media, and I launched Looking at Lit, a free club for anyone who wants to learn more about literature. I…
What Do the Words “Nativity Story” Mean? The Donkey’s Song Also Has A Multicultural Message
In the broadest of understandings, dictionary.com defines the word “nativity” as a birth. Secondarily, it describes the term as the birth of Christ. Third, it adds that the term “nativity” might allude to a church festival, commemorating the birth of Christ or Christmas. Fourth, it also adds that the term “nativity” might be a representation…