Natasha Wing's Blog, page 2

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Easter Readings & Book Signings

Hippity-hoppity Easter's on its way!

Easter is Sunday, April 9th. Do you have goodies for the kids' Easter baskets? Then I have something for you! I'll be doing readings and signings at two wonderful Old Town Fort Collins shops. At Clothes Pony & Dandelion Toys there is a plethora of plushies (literally a wall of bunnies!) and toys galore. Then across the street is The Cupboard where you can find Easter candy and other fun basket stuffers. And at both shops you can get an egg-tra special signed Easter book.  

Here's my schedule:

Saturday, April 1 from 11am - 2 pm I'll be doing a signing of The Legend of Lop-eared Larry, a chapter book set during Easter. Come to The Cupboard at 152 S. College Ave. and stop by my table. 

Saturday, April 8 from 11am to 1:00 I'll be doing a reading of The Night Before Easter and then booktalking The Legend of Lop-eared Larry. Smudge the bookstore bunny will be there, too. Plus you'll meet my plush bunnies. Bring yours, too!

Happy Lunar New Year! Enter this Giveaway.

I'm celebrating my new Night Before book but doing a giveaway! 

Lunar New Year is January 22, 2023. It's the Year of the Rabbit, one of my favorite animals. This book was a collaborative effort. Cultural consultant, Lingfeng Ho, worked with me to get the cultural details accurate. Of course there are many ways to celebrate a holiday but we aimed to include universal traditions. One of them is to give children a red envelope with lucky money. In this spirit, I am giving away a signed book and a lucky red envelope with money to buy a copy of The Night Before Lunar New Year to give to a friend, grandchild, or teacher.

Enter here for a chance to win. Good luck!

 

Hispanic American Heritage Month

September 15 marks the beginning of Hispanic American Heritage Month. 

Here's a little history found on Wikipedia: Hispanic Heritage Month heritage began as Hispanic Heritage Week. Hispanic Week was established by legislation sponsored by Rep. Edward R. Roybal of Los Angeles and was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968. In 1988, the commemorative week was expanded to a month (September 15 to October 15) by legislation sponsored by Rep. Esteban Edward Torres (D–Pico Rivera), amended by Senator Paul Simon, and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the commemoration because it is the anniversary of the Cry of Dolores (early morning, 16 September 1810), which marked the start of the Mexican War of Independence and thus resulted (in 1821) in independence for the New Spain Colony (now Mexico and the Central American nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua) which became the Federal Republic of Central America.

Hispanic Heritage Week was first proclaimed by President Johnson in 1968 in Presidential Proclamation 3869. Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan gave annual proclamations for Hispanic Heritage Week between 1969 and 1988. National Hispanic Heritage Month was first proclaimed by President George H. W. Bush on September 14, 1989, in Presidential Proclamation 6021. 

In celebration, I wanted to encourage you to look for ways to appreciate the Hispanic culture in America, and to read my books that include Mexican American characters:

Jalapeno Bagels: While trying to decide what to take for his school's International Day, Pablo helps his Mexican mother and Jewish father at their bakery and discovers a food that represents both his parents' backgrounds. Includes recipes and glossary of Spanish and Yiddish words.

The Night Before My First Communion: On the night before their First Communion, an Hispanic brother and sister get ready for this Catholic rite of passage. All the family is there--family, grandparents, godparents--to help them prepare for the following day.

And coming soon: a Spanish version of The Night Before the Night Before Christmas.

Thank you!

War Poems

These are poems that I wrote when I assembled my father's story of his journey as an immigrant after WWII, as well as poems written during the Russian-Ukrainian war. I wanted to use the theme of home because as an immigrant, the definition of home changes when you are driven out by war.

HOMELAND

This is where I live.
The place I work and give
to make this country
thrive.
Where I feel ALIVE
and connected,
and proud.
I shout out loud,
I LOVE MY COUNTRY!

HOME INVASION

One day we’re happy,
the next we’re not.
Above there are a lot
    of bombs
        Exploding
    Missiles whistling
        Imploding
buildings and bridges.
Everywhere holes
in cars, in soldiers
    in our souls
We hide down under.
We shake from the thunder
    of more bombs
        more missiles
            more hate.
We wait.
But it still comes.

LEAVING HOME

Hurry! Hurry!
It’s not safe here.
The Enemy is coming.

Open suitcases.
Take clothes, money, memories.
Pack what you can bring.

Goodbye, friends.
One last kiss on family cheeks.
Where are we going?

West, son.
As far away as we can go.
War has changed everything.

WAR HOME

We are on the run,
riding trains,
looking for a place to settle.

Get off! said the Enemy.
You, there. You, over there.

We’re sent to one camp.
Jews to another. 

Herded together behind barbed wire.
Watched like prisoners.
Forced to work for the Enemy.

I see things a boy shouldn’t have to see.

HOMELESS 

The war is over,
millions dead.
We are booted
from our bed.
We hide in the woods
in a rusty shed.
Skinned rabbits for dinner
and stolen bread.
We forage for berries
to keep us fed.

 

TEMPORARY HOME

Rounded up and 
housed in barracks 
that survived bombings.
Like we did.
Living in the Enemy’s quarters
among ghosts of war. 
At least there is laughter here.
At least there is music.
And new life.

NEW HOME

Which country will take us?
We won’t go back. 
Can you help us, Mack?

America is where we want to live.
Send us across the sea
to the land of the free. 

We board a train,
climb on a boat
and off we float
far away from our past.

 

HOME AT LAST

We build a home.
A real home.
with a room of my own.

No blankets for walls.
No communal halls.

A kitchen for Mama.
A yard to roam.

Without wires or fences
or soldiers watching over us.
A safe, new home.

We build a life.
A real life.

A safe, new life.

REHOME

I have a family. 
They look like me.
But they don’t sound like me
or my family from the old country.

They don’t care about traditions.
They grew up, went to college, and moved away.
They started their own families
and are too busy for an old Papa like me.

I feel the tug, tug, tug.
I want to go home.
But you are home, Papa.
No, my real home.
The place where I left my heart.
To the dirt where my people bled.
To my city that rose again.

I want to spend my last years.
Where I began my first.

 

If you'd like to read about my father's journey while also supporting organizations that are helping the Ukrainian refugees, please purchase this Kindle edition of Displace and I will donate to legitimate non-profits that are serving Ukrainians.

Thank you.

Bunny Recommended Books

With Easter on its way, these bunnies wanted to recommend their favorite books. 

Cinnamon recommends Hop!

Marshmallow recommends The ABC Bunny:

Acorn recommends The Legend of Lop-eared Larry:

And so does Bentley!

What book does your bunny recommend?

Refugee Story

When my father was almost 5 years old, the Germans invaded Kiev during WWII. His family escaped by foot and train, always heading west to get away from the war. This is the story of his 7-year journey from Kiev to work camps to his immigration to the United States. It includes photos and a family recipe. Profits will be used to help Ukrainian refugees. Here's where you can buy the e-book.

Lazutin family and friends they met in Displace Persons camp. My father, Alex, is first on left.

Themes:

WWII

Immigration

Starting over

Resilience

Meeting the Illustrator In Person at Saturday's Booksigning

I had been working with illustrator Brittany David for more than a year, maybe even two, before I met her in person. I wanted to celebrate the fact that this awesome team pulled off an awesome book! So she came up to Fort Collins and it was like meeting a long lost friend.

Brittany is a wonderful, kind, and generous person. It shows in her illustrations, and how easy it was to work with her. She also had a lop-eared rabbit. His name was Lil Zacky. 

We went out to lunch at Lucile's then back to my house to sign books.

This was the first time Brittany had seen the final version in print and she was super pleased! I introduced her to Larry, the lop-eared plush rabbit that is the book's mascot. Then we signed stacks of books. 

Brittany went home with illustrator copies and even more confidence that she can illustrate another children's book. 

It's been a long time coming, but on January 2nd, The Legend of Lop-eared Larry will be released to the world! 

If you'd like to support our independently published book, and two Colorado creatives, please order a copy here. Or, if you'd like a copy of the book with both our signatures in it, order directly from me. 

Booksigning: Saturday, Jan. 22 at 10 am. Meet both of us and have some carrot cake!

Harrington Gallery of Contemporary Art
1573 South Pearl Street
Denver, CO 80210

We'd love it if you would help spread the word about our new book and post a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Instagram or your own social media. 

Thank you kindly,

Hester Applebee (aka Natasha Wing)

5-star Reviews for New Bunny Book

I'm excited to finally release my new chapter book, The Legend of Lop-eared Larry, to the world on January 2nd. It was almost two years in the making, but the wait was worth it. I am both appreciative and humbled by the five star reviews.  Here are a few:

To read more reviews, or to post one of your own, go here. Please consider purchasing a copy for a bunny lover or Easter gift.

Warmly,

Hester Applebee (aka Natasha Wing)

 

Books Donated to Literature Collections

I just mailed off more books to add to my collections. I am grateful that these two well-respected institutions are housing my books. Scholars, students, writers, librarians and others interested in the creative process of an author, can access Natasha Wing books at these locations:

The University of Minnesota 

The Kerlan Children's Literature Research Collections

113 Elmer L. Andersen Library

222 - 21st Avenue South

Minneapolis, MN 55455

 

The University of Southern Mississippi

de Grummond Children's Literature Collection

118 College Dr., #5148

Hattiesburg, MS  39406

601-266-6543