Eleven Brave Pinecones

A Surprising Live Encounter Turns Despair into Delight

What would you do with eleven forlorn pinecones that fell (too soon) off their branches in a winter windstorm? What if you could find the right words to encourage them to go out in the world, just not in the way they expected?

"I know you're not where you thought you should be. That means you'll need brand new plans. And new plans take Courage!"

Eleven Brave Pinecones is not quite a counting book, unless you notice counting on each other and counting on your courage. This is not quite a science book, unless you count getting down to ground-level with these unique coniferous cones, catkins, needles, winged seeds, and even the weather and seasons.

This is not only a book for children, but for anyone who wonders how you move forward when the unexpected happens, by asking where we come from and how we might grow. Just as parents might explore nature with their kids, this book can start conversations about exploring their inner nature of emotions and feelings-from grief to joy, dismay to anticipation, and the difference between courage and encouragement.

This true tale of the imagination will delight and inspire readers of all ages to find their own courage to face stormy changes in life. Illustrated with genuine photographs of a wooden art manikin sporting a scarf, known as the Emotikin (or Inner Artist), this debut book in the Emotikin series is based on the author's two-decades of blogging and metaphortography. This particular story begins on Vashon island, south of Seattle, and ends on Colorado's Western Slope with a new group of pinecones, singing songs no less.

**If you happen to live near conifer trees of any kind, you will fall even more in love with them and their pinecones!**

**Read this book to a child while sitting by a pine tree, then take a pinecone home to see how it unfolds!**

If you loved The Hidden Life of Trees and The Overstory, Eleven Brave Pinecones will further spark your imagination and perhaps deeper kinship with the natural world of your own neighborhood.