A Guest Post by Jennifer Black Reinhardt

Dear Jennifer Black Reinhardt,

Happy Thursday! I hope you're having a terrific day. Lou Grant, my cat, wanted me to tell you that he thinks Ethel is a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e. 

Thank you for taking over my blog for the day! 

:) 

Happy reading!

-John 

Making a book is always a very long, winding, frustrating, rewarding, journey, and writing and illustrating Blue Ethel was no exception. Every book journey begins with an idea and that idea came to me several years ago while standing in my in-law’s living room.

It was a typical summer’s day and all the Reinhardts and Borodinskys were gathered together being loud, happy, and lovingly chaotic. The front door banged open and closed as kids sprinted in and out. During one of those door openings, my sister-in-law’s cat, Ethel, trotted in from outside. The square little cat stood like a statue in the center of the hubbub poised for admiration. Her belly hung low and her skinny tail stood straight up like an antenna. Ethel was old and she was fat. She was white and she was black. But on this particular afternoon, Ethel was also blue!

At that time, I didn’t know Ethel very well. But, for the next several years I wondered how Ethel must have felt when she heard our laughter and realized that she had rolled in sidewalk chalk and turned her white fur blue? That sweet cat, whose (important) life’s work was to groom herself, to go outside, and then return to do it all over again. What would Ethel do if she suddenly found herself… colorful?

I hope that readers will discover, as Ethel does, that seeing yourself as beautiful ‘no matter what’ can allow us the opportunity to grow in our own uniqueness, creativity, and self-expression. Blue Ethel is a story about being yourself, and friendship, but it’s also about taking some risks and trying new things.

Perhaps we all need a pink friend named Fluffy to help us be even happier versions of ourselves?

It’s not easy being Ethel, but she’s good at it.

Look for Blue Ethel on May 30, 2017.