As Far As Imagination Can See

Greetings friends!

It's been quite some time since I last blogged...life has been wild! My trip to Israel was postponed due to the release of my debut children's book, The Gray Days. It came out on September 9th, and I've been promoting it through book tours and author signing events. The past few months have been such a wonderfully exciting blur.

In case you haven't heard of the book yet, The Gray Days takes place in a world where the sky rains ash, while rivers of cement wind through forests of hollow, dead trees. In this world...imagination is extinct. I know...it sounds like a pretty grim setting for a children's book, right? But don't fret! Determined to rediscover imagination, seven year old James sets out into the world armed with nothing but hope. He must discover if he has what it takes to help the world leave the gray days behind forever.


Check out the official book trailer !

Anyway, reading the book to kids has been such a remarkable experience. I recently read to a class in which one of the children was legally blind. Now, I know this book by heart...so I am able to watch their reactions while I tell them the story. As I spoke, her face was tilted up and she wore a big smile. I wondered what she was imagining...what the words were painting for her.

Last night, I got my answer. I received a stack of thank you letters from her class. This is hers:

Attached to the Braille letter, was a typed translation from her aide. It says:

"Dear Miss. Rossberg, 

Thank you for reading your book to our class. I really liked it! My favorite part was when the trees came alive. I liked this part because the leaves started growing on trees. Another reason why I liked your book is because I loved the part when it rained. I like this part because it rained and rain makes me feel comfortable. I really appreciate you coming to read to us."

I can't tell you how many times I've read this letter. How many times I have run my hands along the Braille, trying to decipher the letters and words. I cannot. This letter brought me to tears. I was so moved that my words were able to paint a picture for this child, and allow her to see as far as her imagination could reach. 
Endless vision...for there is no horizon for the imagination. 

I didn't realize that I'd be the one learning when I set off on these book tours. Yet this girl, and her letter moved me...taught me. 

There is no horizon for the imagination.