Searching for Spring

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I’m not sure what the weather is like over on the west coast, but here in the Midwest, spring is beginning to seem like something of a myth: it probably happened once a long time ago, but now it’s little more than a nice story we tell.

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 The worst part is “the tease”. Here in Ohio, the temperature will soar to a gorgeous 76 just to plummet back down to a frigid and snowy 26 the very next day (or sometimes, the same day!!). If the weather would stay cold, I could prepare myself, but when it gets warm in April, one begins to think that Mother Nature is serious. Flip flops are dug out of shoe bins, shorts are taken down from the attic, bicycles are dusted off and polished, hope is alive! It’s so much worse falling from the sunny high
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​Whenever the tease begins, instead of getting happy, depression creeps in. It seems like the cold is just too powerful and spring will never be able to conquer it. But guess what? It always does. The snow always disappears, the trees always flower, and the grass always grows anew. The birds always come back and the sun always shines again. This is not a wish, it is a fact. There is a rhythm and a constance to nature that cannot be overcome. 
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It is this hope that lifted me up today as I thought about bullying. Significant strides have been made in the battle against bullying over the last few years.  Educators and parents are learning what works and what does not work. They are learning how to cope with societal and technological changes. Children are truly learning how to not just act with kindness, but to live with kindness. In most schools, it’s no longer cool to be mean. But…bullying still exists. 
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​​Sometimes this fact can seem overwhelming. Sometimes it seems that, just like the cold of winter, bullying will keep overcoming the seeds of kindness and understanding that are trying to break through. Sometimes it seems like we’ve done all we can and must accept that there will always be mean people who do mean things. Throw in the towel. 
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In truth, there will always be mean people, but that doesn’t mean that kindness has been defeated. There will always be cold days. There will be days when the rain seems unending; but with unerring constancy, the sun comes out again. 
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​Bullying isn’t going to end today, and it isn’t going to end tomorrow, but it will get a little bit better each and every day. Don’t lose hope. Spring always comes.

​You can count on it.
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​This is A. Blob  is a masterfully illustrated picture book suitable for children ages 4-8. Written by Lori Kefalos, author of several award-nominated animated shorts.   This is A. Blob is the first of a series following this bully. This first installment follows the antics of A. Blob, a slimy, purple, blob-like creature who wreaks havoc on the elementary school playground with its bullying ways. As the story progresses, however, readers learn that there might be more to A. Blob than meets the eye. Along with its powerful illustrations and rhymed verse for early readers, this story invites children to put themselves in the shoes of another. The book demonstrates that a bully can come in any shape, size, or color and encourages readers to consider why bullies behave the way they do – and start to consider what can be done to help.

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​​BOOK 2 NOW AVAILABLE!​
A. Blob is back, and this time it's on a bus! As the slimy bully pokes and pesters the children of Lincoln Elementary School, it seems like they will never be able to ride the bus in peace. That is, until one brave girl takes stand. 

Can one act of bravery change everything--including A. Blob? Find out in this second installment of The Blob Series!