Every year, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books becomes livelier and brighter due to the growing number of attendees. From book lovers, casual readers, and literary collectors to authors and publishers, people gathered to celebrate literacy.
The largest book festival in the US opened its doors last April for a glamorous two-day weekend celebration with the bookworms. Held at the University of Southern California, many book enthusiasts, book lovers, and book collectors, as well as writers, established authors, and many more, attended the free event.
A lot of bookfair-goers went by the Citi of Books booth to check for their next read and potential favorite book. One of the books that were chosen is “The Adventures of Sleepy the Door Stopper: Sleepy Gets a Mommy and a Home” by Arlene Redick. It was displayed on April 20th and 21st at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California.
Life has a curious way of presenting us with unexpected opportunities, often in the most unlikely of forms. For one individual, a chance encounter with a humble door stopper would lead to the creation of a heartwarming children’s book that captured the imagination of readers young and old alike.
The genesis of “The Adventures of Sleepy the Door Stopper: Sleepy Gets a Mommy and a Home” can be traced back to a time of profound personal transition. In her forties, the author harbored a latent desire to venture into the realm of children’s literature. However, the demands of family life, career, and community engagement relegated this aspiration to the realm of mere daydreams.
Then, in 2021, life dealt an unexpected blow with the sudden passing of her husband. Bereft but undeterred, she found solace in the simple pleasures of everyday life, seeking comfort in the mundane and the ordinary.
It was during a routine shopping trip that fate intervened in the form of a nondescript door stopper. Initially purchased out of practical necessity, this unassuming object soon took on a life of its own. For two months, it sat on the floor, a silent sentinel guarding the threshold of her home.
In “The Adventures of Sleepy the Door Stopper,” we find not only a fascinating children’s story but also a monument to the human spirit’s tenacity and the limitless creative potential that we all possess.
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