Wendy Kesselman

Emma is 72 years old, and she lives alone. She had four children, seven grandchildren, and fourteen great grandchildren. They all had their lives, but Emma grew weary of being alone.

She had an orange cat named Pumpkinseed, and except for the short amount of visits by her family, Pumpkinseed was her companion.

Emma loved the way the white snow glently fell outside her windows. She let her mind wander to the little village over the mountains where she spent many of her young years.

Her family show more gave her a painting of her old village over the mountains. It may have some parts of the old village, yet, it really wasn't the village.

So, Emma had an idea!!she purchased paints and all she needed to perform some masterpieces. Each day she spent painting and she wasn't lonely any more. Her paintings filled the walls with happiness.

And when her family noticed the painting they gave her was replaced by one Emma made, they encouraged her to continue to paint. And, lo and behold, people came from far and wide to see her art and to look closely at the paintings of what her old village held near and dear to her.

Lovely in its simplicity, this is a special little book. show less

I liked this book though I liked the jacket synopsis more than I liked the actual text. The text was partial freeform poetry, partial rhyming couplets. The illustrations, no surprise, were beautiful Ron Himler-style watercolor paintings of a beach setting that I just wanted to sink my feet into. Wonderful book.

An excellect book, lending insight into the feelings of Emma, an elderly woman who lives alone. This book helps us to consider the possible perspectives and feelings of those who are further along the path of life than we are, ourselves. Emma shows us that we may take feelings, such as loneliness and longing, and turn them into inspirational fuel for positive outlets of expression. Absolutely beautiful.
Source: Pierce College Library
Ages: 7 and up

I liked this book because it used simple language to show a big idea. The big idea in this story is that it is okay to be alone sometimes and to do what makes you happy. In the story, Emma is an older woman who is by herself most of the time. Her family comes to visit her sometimes but they don't stay too long. The majority of the time Emma is lonely and the only company she has is her cat, Pumpkinseed. When she is by herself she likes to think about the village she grew up in and watch the show more snow come up to her doorstep. Her her 72nd birthday, Emma's family bought her a painting of the village she grew up in. Emma told her family she likes it a lot and hangs it on her wall, but it actually makes her sad because it doesn't look like the town she grew up in at all. One day, Emma decides to paint a picture of what her town actually looked like and hangs it up in replacement of the picture her family gave her. Whenever he family comes over she put the picture they gave her back up on the wall except one day she forgets to. Her family isn't mad and even asks to see more of her paintings. Her family loves all of her paintings and people from all over the country eventually come to start seeing them. I believe that the character of Emma is believable because older people tend to be by themselves a lot and get lonely. Their children grow up and have families of their own and they are all alone. The book says Emma is lonely a lot when the text says, "So most of the time Emma was all alone. And sometimes she was very lonely." I also really like the illustrations in this text. The illustrator clearly marks on Emma's face when she feels lonely and when she's happy. show less