Blue Skies
by
Anne Bustard
Middle Grade / Historical Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Date of Publication: March 17, 2020
Number of Pages: 224
Scroll down for the giveaway!
Ten-year-old Glory Bea Bennett believes in miracles. After all, her grandmother—the best matchmaker in the whole county—is responsible for thirty-nine of them so far.
Now, Glory Bea wants a miracle of her own—her daddy’s return.
The war ended three years ago, but Glory Bea’s father never returned from the front in France. She believes Daddy is still out there.
When reports that the Texas boxcar from the Merci Train—a train filled with gifts of gratitude from the people of France—will be stopping in Gladiola, Glory Bea just knows Daddy will be its surprise cargo.
But miracles, like people, are always changing, until at last they find their way home.
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Praise
“I loved Blue Skies so much I couldn’t bear for it to end.” –Patricia Reilly Giff, Newbery Honor author of Lily’s Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods
“A heart-warming (and occasionally heart-wrenching) delight of a book . . .” –Joy Preble, Brazos Bookstore
“A tender story of grief and the gentle comfort of loved ones.” — Kirkus Reviews
The Gift of an Idea
by Anne Bustard
The spark for Blue Skies, my newest middle grade novel, was a happy surprise.
If I hadn’t gone to the summer workshop at the LBJ Presidential Library over fifteen years ago . . .
If Marcia Sharp, then Educational Specialist at the library, hadn’t taken us across the University of Texas at Austin campus to visit the Texas Memorial Museum …
If the Educational Specialist at the Texas Memorial Museum hadn’t shown us their website which included archived exhibits …
If the icon of a train with the words “Gratitude Train” hadn’t scrolled by and piqued my interest …
Blue Skies might never have been written.
You see, I’d never heard of the Gratitude Train before, also known as the Merci Train, which is central to my novel.
Even though I ran or walked by the Texas Merci boxcar for decades when it was displayed near Lady Bird Lake in Austin …
Even though it was one of 49 boxcars that traveled from France, filled with gifts of thanks for all we did before and after WWII …
Even though in 1949 the Merci Train was splashed across headlines and newsreels …
As soon as I learned more, lucky me, a story idea popped into my head.
I love that my research journey returned me to the LBJ Presidential Library.
Unbeknownst to me until years later, I learned it houses the Drew Pearson Papers. Mr. Pearson was instrumental in coordinating the arrival and distribution of the Merci Train boxcars with the French (one to each state, and one divided between the Territory of Hawaii and Washington D. C.).
So I returned again and again to read through Mr. Pearson’s memos, letters, newspaper articles, radio scripts, and more.
It’s been a long and twisty writing journey to publication, but I couldn’t be more grateful for the gift of an idea that originated with gifts of gratitude.
FYI The Texas Merci Train boxcar is now located at the Texas Military Museum at Camp Mabry in Austin. The museum is free and open to the public. The remaining artifacts are housed by the Briscoe American History Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Visit www.mercitrain.org anytime, for more information about the train.
Anne Bustard is the former co-owner of Toad Hall Children’s Bookstore in Austin, Texas, and an MFA graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of the middle grade novel, Anywhere But Paradise, as well as two picture books, RAD! and Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly, which was an IRA Children’s Book Award Notable and a Bank Street Book of the Year. Hawaii-born, she divides her time between Texas and Canada.
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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
THREE WINNERS
Each receives a signed copy of Blue Skies
March 17-March 27, 2020
(US ONLY)
Check out the other blogs on this tour
| 3/17/20 | Notable Quotable | The Clueless Gent |
| 3/17/20 | BONUS Post | Hall Ways Blog |
| 3/18/20 | Review | Jennifer Silverwood |
| 3/19/20 | Playlist | All the Ups and Downs |
| 3/20/20 | Author Interview | Chapter Break Book Blog |
| 3/21/20 | Review | Story Schmoozing Book Reviews |
| 3/22/20 | Guest Post | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 3/23/20 | Review | Missus Gonzo |
| 3/24/20 | Review | The Page Unbound |
| 3/25/20 | Top Ten List | Rebecca R. Cahill, Author |
| 3/26/20 | Review | That’s What She’s Reading |
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What a fascinating look at how this story came to be. Like you Anne, I love to dig around in archives doing research. You never know what gem will come to light. Looking forward to reading your book.