Toni @ Answer Line Archive.

Making your house, (apartment, room or whatever) into your home is always exciting and fun. Jill Butler's book, Create the Space You Deserve:  An Artistic Journey to Expressing  Yourself  Through Your Home is an inspirational book that got me thinking in a different way about my living space.  

It is easy to find ideas on home décor and stores are relentless in their push to sell you the latest thing that you absolutely need for your home. Create the Space You Deserve takes a different  approach  by tapping into the emotional process of designing space. This book inspired me to look at my living space with a fresh eye. Your living area can be a powerful expression of who you are and in these hard economic times I find myself in the nesting mode more than ever. For me it is the little things that tend to make me happiest...like sitting at home in a comfy chair, sipping tea and watching the clouds.

This book is old, (1964) but sweet and speaks to the artist in me....a small, brown bat "the color of coffee with cream in it" can't sleep and soon finds himself awakening to the brightness of daytime and the poet in his soul. This neglected gem of a book is wonderful on many levels . First, I love how the book shows all ages (but especially kids) some real lessons about poetry and what it is like to struggle with the creative process. The author also succeeds in showing the difficulties of finding an appreciative audience for ones creations. But my favorite part, and I thank the author for this, was his ability to point out the difference between appreciating a poem (or any art) for its technical excellence and simply feeling the work of art on a gut level.

42 pages make The Bat-Poet by Randall Jarrell a quick read that is perfect for a ferry crossing with family or bedtime lounge on the couch with the kids. (Maurice Sendak has sprinkled the pages with delicate drawings that are simply perfect!)