Write the book you want to read.
-Toni Morrison (1981, annual meeting of the Ohio Arts Council)
At the onset of what would be the height of the fuzzy-in-the-brain pandemic years, my dining room table was overrun with clutter and unfinished projects. In a moment of reflection (and probably, exasperation and anxiety), I decided to finally get to the bottom of the boxes and piles of…stuff.
To my delight, I came across a small 3×5 tattered journal that I remember keeping in the car (circa 2006) to jot down ideas, mainly about my then 6-year-old daughter, Danielle. I opened the journal and began to read my quips, ideas, and, apparently, Danielle’s scribbles and early writing all over the pages.
When I looked through the scribbles, I saw a story that was jotted down in 2006 entitled Muddy Ballerinas. Reading the words written in faded pencil instantly took me back to the Thatcher Pre-School in 2006 when my daughter and two friends asked us (the mothers) if they could have some extra time on the playground before going to ballet class right next door.
I remember the mothers, Souad, Ariane, and I looking at each other with lifted eyebrows as if to say—this is going to be bad. Very bad. We each offered our silence to the girls, which meant that it was okay to play. I remember saying aloud, “They are going to be muddy ballerinas” and we all gave a nervous laugh and tried to remember that kids playing in the mud was a form of freedom. Right?
The girls giggled and splashed and had THE BEST time making mud pies and then they trotted to ballet class. I’m sure we all felt guilty as we offered our apologies to the ballet teacher.
While the girls were in the ballet class, I jotted down the story about what just transpired. It also occurred to me that it is a real gift for kids (and adults) to interact within and across racial/cultural groups and settings. These three six-year-olds, from different racial and cultural backgrounds, were friends—pure and simple.
As I sat at my dining room table remembering all of this, I realized that this was a story I wanted people to hear. Especially as we entered what would be a long-term challenge with COVID-19, political factions, and disease in our collective community.
Muddy Ballerinas and the power of friendship was the book that I wanted to read. I wrote it all those years prior. Now, was the time to share publicly.
I’d written poems for college publications and had written quite a few professional articles and book chapters ranging from mathematics instruction in post-apartheid South Africa to teacher training in communities of color but I had not published a children’s book, nor did I know how to.
I talked to the girls, Reham, Alyssa, and Danielle, who were 16 or so at this time, as well as their families, about publishing Muddy Ballerinas. Everyone was supportive and eager. I found an illustrator and self-published my first book in 2020.
My greatest joy was having a book talk featuring the girls and their moms. It made me remember what a gift storytelling is.
It made me remember that writing about what’s real and true IS what’s real and true.
Since self-publishing Muddy Ballerinas, I have added Muddy Ballerinas and the Big Bowling Party, as well as a version in Spanish. I have also self-published 2 additional books about bees and beekeeping (with one on the way soon! Yay!). I have written 16 non-fiction readers for Boston Public Schools, developed a K-12 curriculum for Arts for Learning Maryland, and developed numerous courses for students and adults taught locally. To find out more about my writing pursuits, visit my website www.holleefreeman.com
About the Author
