From The Heart
I recently went to the movies with my two little girls, and per usual, I made sure we arrived early so we wouldn’t miss any of the previews. I love stories, and relish the opportunity to watch highlights of upcoming movies so I know what to look forward to next! This time, I saw a preview for Disney’s Cinderella. The Cinderella story has been knocked around a bit lately for portraying the standard damsel in distress character rescued by a prince. But there was a line in the preview that made me think that I wanted to see this movie: "Have courage, and be kind," Cinderella’s mother says. "Where there is kindness, there is goodness and where there is goodness, there is magic."
I sat there, popcorn halfway up to mouth, and thought, “yes!” Because this is exactly the sort of concept I address in the Pumpkinheads® books: kindness, courage, empathy, compassion, tolerance… many of the qualities that sometimes get forgotten or overlooked in our fast-paced and material driven society. There is magic that occurs when people are kind and courageous, loving and generous, thoughtful and appreciative –a magic that is even more beautiful than turning a pumpkin into a coach or rags into a beautiful blue dress. It is the magic that happens when people connect, care for and love one another.
Pumpkinheads® is a series that comes straight from the heart. As a writer, I wanted to create stories that would serve as examples of the kind of behaviors I hoped my children would exhibit in life. The vessel for these lessons became characters that are fun and relatable, so that for kids reading about the characters, their dilemmas, and the solution to their problems, it would be like learning from friends!
There is magic to be found in loving oneself, others, and the world around us, and I hope that my stories are as enchanting to kids as a little bit of fairytale magic too!
Karen Kilpatrick is the author and
co-illustrator of the award winning children’s books series, Pumpkinheads® (Carmin
Cares, Ella’s
Toys, Love
Monster Lulu, Sage’s
Song and Danza’s
Message). She currently is working on new Pumpkinheads® titles and
other books for children. Karen also writes adult short stories, and is a
winning author in the Florida Writer’s Association’s collection contest, with
her short story, The Envelope,
published October 2014. She lives with her husband and three children in Parkland , Florida
For More Information
- Connect with Karen on Facebook and Twitter.
- Find out more about Karen at Goodreads.
- Visit Karen’s blog.
a copy of Karen's books were provided in exchange for hosting this tour by....
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