In “The Serendipitous Adventures of Curious Posie”, author Amanda C. Beck teaches children how to use their imagination, while refurbishing reusable items by turning them into treasures. The book includes a craft to do with parents at the end of the book. Amanda is an author we hope to see more from in the future.Remember when you were young and used your imagination? Today’s generation of kids sometimes rely too much on technological toys and toss them when the newness has worn off. Posie takes us back to the adventures of imagination. She and her insect side kick, Gilligan, live in the make believe world of Odd Village.
Molly is a little girl, whose doll named Daisy has a broken arm. While Molly is asleep, Posie borrows Daisy and fixes her broken arm. She leaves a note, promising to bring her right back. She returns the doll all fixed up in a neatly packaged box for Molly.The craft at the end of the book is making a home made sock doll. It requires a needle and thread, so adult supervision will be needed.Amanda is a recently graduated art student. This is her debut project as an author. All artwork and the story is original. The artwork was made from water colors. The picture of Posie resembles Amanda as a young girl. As an art student, she learned to make art from everyday items we take for granted. A sock turns into a doll. Insects become pets. A paint brush, water and a little paint become pictures. Pictures become stories.In this day of throw away living, we forget that others might appreciate what we take for granted. Also, when we donate items, we can take the time to fix them up first. We can teach our children to care for their toys and offer them to others who may enjoy them as they become outgrown.
By spending time together doing crafts, parents and children can bond. Parents can tell their children about all the adventures they once had playing make believe and telling bedtime stories.I’m sure we will be hearing more from Posie in the future. The possibilities of adventures are endless. By the way, if you’ve never heard the word “serendipitous” before, it means when you stumble upon something wonderful along the way that you weren’t looking for. Now you can add a new word to your vocabulary list!