Illustration

Nineteen Minutes

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Nineteen minutes is how long it took for high school junior Peter Houghton to enter Sterling High and kill ten people and wound another nineteen. However, it took his whole life from when he was first bullied at five years old to that point, having endured years of emotional and physical abuse from his classmates, to now, when he’d finally had enough.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is a complex, challenging, and astonishing read which covers many issues beyond the central focus of the school shooting. Bullying is the thread weaving the entire story together. The novel focuses primarily on one character, Peter, who could never seem to fit in. His non-stop torment began his first day on the bus to kindergarten when bigger kids threw his cherished Superman lunchbox out the window. Peter was five, and had dreamed of his first day of school. Josie, like Peter, and a good friend when they were young, had also always felt out of place until high school, when she became the girlfriend of a popular boy. Being bullied and treated abusively by him was the price Josie paid for her popularity.

Nineteen Minutes is about the many ways a child can be failed, even if unintentionally, by family, friends, and school. It asks what it means to be different in today’s society, and who has the right to judge another. It talks about how easily entire lives can be destroyed; how the truth comes out in the end; and how justice may be served.

Nineteen Minutes is also about individuals and families who are truly doing the best they can in trying to understand the young people in their lives. Ultimately, the book is about love, friendship, judgment, pain, redemption, and death, played out in the lead-up and aftermath of just nineteen minutes of violence.

Ms. Picoult has scrupulously researched every detail and aspect of school shootings and the myriad fields related to them, including forensics, court proceedings, the psychology of school shooters, and more. Her novel is also a consistently banned book, but it might also be the book that teens, their parents, and teachers most need to read.

Nineteen Minutes, published in 2007, is totally relevant today. It is incredibly impressive throughout, and packs an unexpected double punch at the end. It has left me thinking for days, wondering how, as such a supposedly advanced society, we are not doing better. Highly recommended.

This was a long post. If you’re still here, thanks for reading through to the end.

p.s. Last night, I continued to edit this piece, planning to post it today. When I opened my online news this morning, I found that there had been a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Canada. Nine total were killed, including the shooter who took their own life, and twenty-seven wounded. That this was transpiring while I wrote about school shootings confirmed that I needed to post this.

Photo credits: Hallway by Yash Patel/Unsplash; Bullying from WeStockProductions/Shutterstock  

World Read Aloud Day

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

It’s coming up fast!

I hadn’t been aware until fairly recently that I could participate in this wonderful opportunity to read my picture book to children anywhere in the world via Zoom on World Read Aloud Day!

There is an endless amount of information on the benefits of reading aloud to children. It literally builds neural pathways that contribute to emotional well-being and academic success. Reading celebrates our deep connections to one another and the world. It is never too early to read aloud to a child!

If you would like me to read my book, Where Do Butterflies Go at Night? 2nd Edition, to your class or library group, we can arrange a time. Sessions are 20 minutes long, from 10 am to 2 pm, EST. I will read my book, and have a short Q and A at the end.

Please contact me if interested. I would love to read to your class.

I Am Honored

/ still a dreamer / 10 Comments

I am both honored and grateful to have received an award for my picture book, Where Do Butterflies Go at Night? 2nd Edition.

My book is the 2025 winner in the Poetry Category from Northern Lights Book Awards, who “Honor Children’s Literature of Exceptional Merit.” This is especially meaningful to me as a writer, as writing is something I have loved to do most of my life, and continue to do today.

They wrote, “Thank you for the enchanted time you gave our judges. It was a pleasure and an honor to read your book.” I am humbled.

I am also always grateful for Stella’s beautiful artwork, and that together, in words and images, we can take you through the rich imagination of a child who wonders where these magical butterflies go when daylight fades.

Butterflies is available on Amazon by clicking on the book cover found in the navigation.

May I Be Shameless for A Moment?

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As in … may I show you some of my artwork?

I’m always of the mind to bring something of value to those who stop in to my blog. You know, a little something to think about or inspire you or put a smile on your face.

In that vein, how about some art featuring animals, our fellow travelers on this journey?

The holidays are an extremely busy time for anyone who has a business of any type, but especially we small business owners who have a whole lot to get ready for Christmas shoppers. That includes photography, scanning, writing, posting, etc. And … marketing … telling people we exist.

So here I am.

I’ve gone a new route in my Etsy shop. Once devoted to French Bulldog art alone, my shop now offers prints and giclee prints, original art, cards, and, of course, my children’s book signed to the person of your choice. My artwork has been published in magazines for decades – someone should have that original art or print hanging on their wall. Might it be you?

Up top, my new carousel horse card, bringing back the magical memories so many have of riding these stunning horses, and just a couple of the prints currently in store. Much more is available and I’m adding daily. Please come by and take a look.

Shamelessly yours,
Jeanne

The Woman and the Dog

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It was in the late 80’s on the Lower East Side that I saw her, a woman sharing her quilt with a beautiful Harlequin Great Dane on a street corner at Cooper Square .

I just had to go and say hello to the dog, as we animal lovers are often wont to do. When I came closer, I saw that the woman was very clean, but shabbily dressed, perhaps wearing the only clothes she owned. The dog’s coat was so bright, you needed sunglasses. I could see she was homeless, and her dog was undoubtedly her life.

“May I pet your dog?” I asked. The sun rose in her face and shone with joy.

“Please, sit down,” she offered.

I sat on the quilt, and proceeded to pet and get all mushy with the affectionate Dane. I asked about him, and she was absolutely elated to be able to talk about her magnificent companion. Soon, I was telling her about my Chloe at home, a pit bull terrier who had come to the shelter at 6 months old with a broken leg. We chatted and laughed about our dogs, animals, and life in general as any two new acquaintances would do.

At some point, I had to get going, and we said our goodbyes, still smiling and glowing. I stopped at a small market to get a sandwich and coffee, and decided to get the same for her plus a bag of dog food for the Dane. But when I returned to the corner, she was gone, perhaps shooed away by the police, or maybe that was the amount of interaction she could tolerate; one couldn’t know.

I hoped this beautiful homeless soul would find some peace, comfort, and safety with her dog. I have never forgotten them. A recent event brought them to mind again.

On a particular TV channel (whose “news” I will never watch, and which is heavily constructed of lies), two hosts were talking about the “homeless problem”. One said that if the homeless weren’t willing to accept the resources the city offered, they should be locked up. The other replied, ““Or involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill ’em.” Yes, you read that correctly, as unbelievable as it may seem. You can find that clip here.

How has this situation come so far? While homelessness cuts across race, gender, and nationality, essentially, these are people suffering severe economic hardship. They may be our veterans, having seen combat in wars overseas; they come home with PTSD, are unable to manage life, and find no one to help them.

They are former patients of mental institutions, released when it was decided to shut down the hospitals, giving people already unable to cope with life the responsibility of getting somewhere on their own to pick up their meds. But more often than not, they are people who lost their jobs, their home, their car … everything … and had nowhere to turn. They are our neighbors. And there but for some saving grace, they are you. They are me.

Why we have homelessness is not due to a lack of money; it’s due to a lack of love.

The responsibility sits on the shoulders of your average citizen all the way up to elected leaders who have zero concern for humanity and are comfortable fostering hate. Or they simply don’t see the homeless as human beings. Or a priority.

But we – you and I – can still make a difference by continuing to be kind and caring, and believing that this multiplies exponentially, even if slower than we’d like. Peace always begins with us.

Please keep shining.