It's not everyday you meet heroes like these...

Published: Fri, 06/06/14

Hello ,

I'm home from my California trip which included a fabulous visit to the famous Hucklebee's book store, where books come alive! It was thrilling to see PURE GRIT on their shelf.

Hucklebee's is famous for it's museum. They have the acorn that fell on Chicken Little's head, the magic pebble Sylvester held, among many other wonderful storybook artifacts. Authors and illustrators have added to the collection and hundreds of fun things are displayed all over the store. See if you recognize anything from your childhood here...

Don't miss next week's newsletter. I'll be introducing a new book I can't wait to read about American woman war correspondents.

It's Not Everyday

You Meet Heroes Like These

95-year-old Phillip Coon was an infantry machine gunner in the army when he was surrendered to the Japanese and forced on the brutal Bataan Death March. While in captivity he was put on the gruesome burial detail and later transported to Japan where he worked in a slave labor camp. For more about Mr. Coon, click here.

I had the honor and privilege of visiting with several POWs while attending the American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor annual Convention last week in San Jose, CA. It was a bit intimidating speaking to an audience so closely associated with the topic of my book, but also exciting because people were so appreciative of PURE GRIT. I enjoyed meeting the widow of POW Ferron E. Cummins, Lora Cummins who had been good friends with several of the nurses in my book.

The POWs, their wives, children, friends and relatives gather every year to commemorate the sacrifice and service of these men. One of the group's goals is to keep the story alive for young people. History books may touch briefly upon the subject, but stories from the survivors have more impact.

Shayna Ross is a student at Yamhill-Carlton High School in Oregon. I spoke with her at a Veteran's Day 2013 celebration where she heard first hand the experiences of American defenders of Bataan and Corregidor.

A new documentary on the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor was screened at the ADBC convention, Never the Same: A Prisoner of War Experience. Three-time Emmy Award-winning director Jan Thompson interviewed a number of POW's for the documentary. She also uses poems, songs and art work created by prisoners in the camps to depict the brutality they experienced. You can view the trailer here.

News & Links

Scholastic Instructor, a magazine for teachers has recommended PURE GRIT for summer reading! The article tells teachers, "There's no better way to set your students up for summer reading success than to personally recommend books that you know they'll love. To help you, we've scoured the newest releases for 20 surefire hits across reading levels and genres."

See the list here...

Women's eNews published an excerpt of PURE GRIT this week. Please pass along this link if you know someone you think might enjoy the topic. It presents a good flavor of the the book. Military Nurses in Philippines Engulfed in WWII

----------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to new subscribers this week! Thanks for joining me on this journey.

I'm grateful to you all for your time and interest. Feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might enjoy it. I will never spam you or sell your email address, you can unsubscribe below anytime with a single mouse click.

If you'd like to get your hands on a copy of PURE GRIT, here's the place!

If you'd like a signed copy and I'm not coming to your neighborhood soon, let me know. I can send you a personally autographed book or a signed bookplate.

To find out more about my books, how I help students, teacher and librarians, visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com.

My best,

Mary

Questions? Comments? Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com. Click here to subscribe to this newsletter.