The author narrates and dramatizes this audio version of her illustrated book, using music and sound effects to heighten the experience. The characters really come alive! Listen while you read along, or just listen and enjoy! Set in the present, this richly illustrated magical realism novel is a coming of age tale in the digital age. Harnessing the power of creativity in words, stories, music, and art the heroine, a 12- year- old girl named Jean, learns important life lessons after her grandmother dies.
Growing up in this fast-paced era of the Internet and technology has particular challenges, especially for girls. Women have come so far, yet where are they? Is there any time to look back? Have we thrown out the baby with the bathwater? In the novel, the heroine Jean unwittingly stumbles into the alluring web of tradition while trying to hang on to the last threads of childhood and cope with her feelings after the unexpected death of her beloved grandmother. With guidance from mythological and imaginary female characters, with support from her parents, her teacher, her aunt and uncle, and from books and the Internet Jean gradually pieces together her understanding of what is means to be female. She learns skills in the fiber arts, gains confidence and discovers key stories from the past told from a new point of view. Alone in her room, she encounters Dust Bunnies representing the Three Fates, a few special goddesses in animal form, plus folk, fairytale and biblical heroines, including Grandmother Spider, Isis, Brigit, Athena, Rachel and Psyche. She liberates Arachne, the mortal condemned by Athena to the life of a spider, hidden and feared.
Over time Jean sees that she is part of the evolving family of women on earth stretching back centuries through many cultural traditions. Jean learns about caring, questioning, expressing her deepest concerns, listening to others and appreciating the wonders and mysteries of nature and of language. She finds i...
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