Book Signing Sunday: An Old House Inspires A Second Children's Book
By Shannon Hicks
Little is known about the tradition of hiding shoes, or concealments, in the walls of old houses.
Jennifer Thermes and her family unexpectedly uncovered the tradition when they did some renovations to their antique Newtown home. First Mrs Thermes's husband Stephen found a book in the ceiling of one of the rooms in their home. Two years later the family discovered a shoe under the floorboards.
"Finding these treasures makes me think about the children who have lived in our home," Mrs Thermes wrote for the Author's Note of her second book, the recently-released Sam Bennett's New Shoes. "Nobody knows for certain why children's shoes were concealed. But I imagine — what better than a child to symbolize hope and promise for the future?"
With those thoughts in mind and the imagination and talent that helped Mrs Thermes publish her first book, When I Was Built, which came out in November 2001, Mrs Thermes is now celebrating the release of Sam Bennett's New Shoes.
One of her first public events with the book is scheduled for this weekend, when the Newtown resident will be featured at Barnes & Noble Bookseller in Danbury for a reading and book signing event. Mrs Thermes will be at the store, on 15 Backus Avenue (in Danbury Square), on Sunday, May 7, at 3 pm.
The hardcover book retails for $15.95 (ISBN 1575058227, 32 pages; Carolrhoda Books, January 2006) and its target audience is ages 4 to 8.
In this book, which is more plot-driven than Mrs Thermes' first book, a traveling cobbler arrives just in time to make a brand-new pair of shoes for young Sam Bennett. They are initially too big for Sam, but he grows into them during the course of the year, during which time readers follow him through chores of increasing responsibility.
"Thermes's take is chock-full of historical faces and tidbits. Her detailed illustrations show much about 18th Century life but stay focused on the central narrative," wrote Catherine Callegari for School Library Journal. "This title can be used as an educational tool or simply as an enjoyable read-aloud."