CHILDREN’S LITERATURE | BACKYARD CHICKENS | PETS | FRIENDSHIP | CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Seasons of Friendship: Introduction
An optional section with potential when used well
I’ve read a lot of negative things about introductions — mostly that they are unnecessary, cumbersome, and annoying for readers. What seems to make them that way appears to be when they are heavy on backstory which can be very tedious to read.
This introduction is more to explain why I am writing this book and to give readers a chance to experience what it’s like to share a conversation with a chicken like Gracie. Hopefully there is enough here to interest readers. My reason for writing about Gracie and the others has not changed over all of these years.
Also, since this is mostly dialogue, it moves quickly with lots of white space on the page.
Introduction
“What are you doing?” asked Gracie.
“I’m making some pencil sketches of you and the others,” I said.
“Why would you do that?”
“So I won’t forget any of you.”
“You aren’t forgetful. You always remember to feed us.”
“Well, sometimes people forget even though they don’t want to forget especially when they get old. So I want some words and some pictures to help me remember just in case that ever happens to me.”
“What will you do with all these words and pictures?”
“I will put them in a book and maybe share the book with other people.
Gracie thought this over carefully. “Do they need to remember us too?”
“No. They just need to know how special you are and how much wisdom you have.”
“I don’t know if I have any wisdom.”
“Well, you do. You have taught me more about life than I can ever write or draw.”
“Are you sure? You’re so much bigger than me. You’ve got to know a lot more than me.”
“There are a lot of big people who need your kind of wisdom. You know heart things, Gracie. That’s what really matters.”
“Are you going to tell about Bessie and how she likes to cook?”
“Maybe in another book.”
“Are you going to tell about Pearl and how she puts on comedy shows for all of us in the backyard?”
“Maybe in another book.”
“Are you going to tell about Amelia and how she wants to be the first chicken to fly to the moon and back?”
“Maybe in another book.”
I could guess what her next question was going to be because she was too hesitant to ask it.
“And as much as I want to tell about how you dance ballet, I will do that in another book too. I want that to be the most special book of all.”
“But you promise you will?”
“I promise, and we can work on it together.”
I could tell there was still something troubling her. “What else do you want to know, Gracie?”
“In the ballet book, can you draw a picture of me dancing with you in the streets of Paris? I don’t think we will ever really get to dance there together.”
“Of course, Gracie. Drawing lets you do things you would never be able to do any other way.”
“So what will this book be about?”
“It will be about how our little family came to be. It will also be about the most important and wisest things you taught me about friendship.”
“I like that,” she said approvingly.
“I thought you would.”
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