You may or may not have noticed the link in the sidebar to The Wonderful World of Tiptoes Lightly and her gang. Well, in the Spring we discovered a new love for a collection of stories that revolve around her and her friends. The books are great fun. They are full of nature, innocence and wonder and we read them all together, and Naomi reads them again and again to herself and sometimes Leviah.
It’s difficult to find age appropriate books for both Leviah and Naomi–books that haven’t been commercialized. It is a timeless series, like those of A.A. Milne or Beatrix Potter. Author Reg Down has created something we all love. Adventure and emotion, exploration and excitement–such sweet stories. From one journey to the next–my kids are inspired to explore like Pine Cone, Pepper Pot and Jeremy Mouse–just a few of the people we’ve meet within them.
The familiarity Reg has with the journey of childhood puts me at ease, knowing the themes will fill my kids with ideas that sit right with them. Did I mention the illustrations? They are beautiful and each page full of new delightful imagery. (note the images adorning this page)
Reg Downs’ series of children’s books are fantastic, and, he keeps writing and publishing more!
Reg was kind enough to answer a few questions so that we all might learn a little more about his creative process and what we can all do to be better storytellers ourselves.
Have you other creative outlets in your life and do they help you with your writing?
Tons – and yes! Writing is only part of what I do and who I am. I am also a eurythmist and while I am not teaching full time at the moment I have been doing other things. I just got back from teaching and lecturing at a conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil where the South Americans were celebrating 100 years of eurythmy. Those guys know about having fun! And upcoming is to direct a fairy tale for a group of eurythmists … also a puppet show (I like connecting with young kids this way) and then there are hobbies such as pine needle basketry. All of these things are creative expressions and they play into each other.
What are the major influences on your style?
It seems to me that style is really just another name for personality and preference. I can’t
imagine a writer deliberately writing in a way that is unrelated to who they are – why bother? So I don’t really think about it and concentrate on shaping the language.
Are there unexpected inspirations for your stories?
Yes, of course. If what we wrote was solely derived from what we already know (i.e., the past) it would be terribly dry – like a scientific paper which only deals with what has already been established. That’s not art – that’s linguistic engineering! The best things in a story are almost always spontaneous or newly envisioned or unexpected.
The characters in your stories, like Tiptoes Lightly, have fairly distinct characters. Do these characters represent specific people or experiences in your own life?
Yes, sometimes, but not in an organized way. Farmer John reflects me as a father when my kids were small … but not necessarily through any specific incident. Tiptoes Lightly definitely corresponds to something in me but is also an objective entity.
In our homeschooling storytelling and reading plays a huge role, however at times it seems difficult to make up stories spontaneously—though my children always respond eagerly when we do. What is your best advice for becoming a natural and fluent storyteller with children?
Practice. Practice makes perfect … or at least better and better. The reason your children respond so eagerly is that the story you tell is from you (their light and love!) and it’s happening and alive in the present (where children naturally live). You can also assist yourself by asking the children for two or three name words … such as ‘king’ or ‘butterfly’ or ‘mouse’, and then your task is to weave a story which contain these elements: “Once upon a time a Butterfly King met a mouse…” and the story takes off and has a life of its own. Some will be good and some will be sad and some will be lots of fun and go on forever!
What are some authors/books you read and recommend reading as a child and as an adult?
For me, reading fairy tales from around the world are essential. These tales are born out of a rich, deep cultural wisdom. Otherwise, just follow Albert Einstein’s advice regarding the key to educating children: “Good literature.” And when asked what else, he replied: “More good literature!” The emphasis here, of course, is on the word ‘good’ because there is so much trash out there. So read the classics that have proven themselves for more than one generation. And don’t forget that reading to children means reading to (and with) them till they are at least in grade 8, if not older!
And, I’m privileged to host a little giveaway!
One lucky comment-er will win the book of their choice from the Tiptoes series! So, if you haven’t been introduced already–here’s your chance. If you have, share the joy of these great books with a friend! Just comment, and share (anywhere on the internet–multiple places even) leaving a comment for each one.
Winner chosen at random in one week, the 26th of August at 10pm. Enjoy!
In the meantime, here’s a link to where you can find Tiptoes books for purchase online and locally.
It’s difficult to find age appropriate books for both Leviah and Naomi–books that haven’t been commercialized. It is a timeless series, like those of A.A. Milne or Beatrix Potter. Author Reg Down has created something we all love. Adventure and emotion, exploration and excitement–such sweet stories. From one journey to the next–my kids are inspired to explore like Pine Cone, Pepper Pot and Jeremy Mouse–just a few of the people we’ve meet within them.
One lucky comment-er will win the book of their choice from the Tiptoes series! So, if you haven’t been introduced already–here’s your chance. If you have, share the joy of these great books with a friend! Just comment, and share (anywhere on the internet–multiple places even) leaving a comment for each one.
38 Comments
I too am always having a hard time finding good books for my book worms to read. I've never heard of these. Would love to give them a try!
shared on facebook! Thanks!
I've been wanting to try these books with my kids. I prefer to get things from the library to see if we like them before going out and buying ourselves. Much to my dismay, our library doesn't own a single copy.
Oh, I'd love to win this- I think my kids would really enjoy these books!!
Thank you for the opportunity to win a Tiptoes book. We own the first Tiptoes book and The Lost Lagoon, however, Big Stamp Two Toes and The Festival of Stones look delightful and I've longed to have copies for my home & children.
🙂
I've shared on Facebook!
mb
Thank you
We just adore Tiptoes in our house and there are still 2 or 3 we've yet to own. Thank you so much for the opportunity!
I'm sharing this on Facebook.
Shared on Pinterest.
Shared on Twitter.
We have 5 Tiptoes books and you can tell by how worn they're getting how much we love them!
would love to win!
[email protected]
not sure if my last comment worked
LOVE the reviews on these books. Would love to win one to give them a try! My daughter will probably adore them!
thanks for the chance!
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these are some of my favorite books. Love how Reg incorporates the festivals into the stories. also, nice to have "chapter" books that are simple, playful and young. I don't want to enter, as I have all the books already! Just a fan.
My granddaughter and I would love one of these books. Thanks for the giveaway! cokelush at gmail.
Shared: https://www.facebook.com/robinphillipsknotts/posts/356291751113418
tweet: https://twitter.com/cokelush/status/237968057232928768
Would love to try these books!
[email protected]
My daughter and I love these books, thanks for the opportunity to win!
Shared on Facebook!
My daughter would love these books!
Oh, I NEED to win this! 😉
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THANK YOU
I have been wanting to read Reg's books to my daughters. The series sounds delightful and read aloud time is such a bonding experience. Thank you for your beautiful blog, I will be back often to glean ideas as I begin Waldorf Homeschooling next week with my kindergarten girl.
Thank you for your wonderful stories, I'm telling some of them to my daughters and they inspire me for my own stories. All this summer I'm telling stories about gnomes to my girls, we invented our forest Universe with different details and some characters. And for girl's July birthdays I made a felt playmate with our gnome's worlds and some wooden figurines, so girls can see our fantasy worls in reality and were very happy and surprised:))
And I share your giveaway with my friends on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/anna.moses.528
I've heard so much about these books; I'd love to read them!
Beautiful books!
shared on fb
pinned it, too
We love, love, love Tiptoes Lightly. I'd happily take another one! 🙂
Shared on Fb. 🙂
Awesome! We love these books and have a couple more to collect yet. Thanks so much!
I've shared on my business fb page.
Shared on my personal page.
Tweet tweet! On Twitter.
Always looking for good books.
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