Summers spent in St. Martins inspired children's story Sea Glass Summer

CBC

2 days ago

Heidi Jardine Stoddart's love of stories and the shore began when she was a child, and decades later her memories of summers at her family cottage in St. Martins inspired a children's book.
Stoddart's book, Sea Glass Summer, is part of this year's Books and Backroads series.
Readers in six small communities in rural areas of New Brunswick took part in book clubs in CBC's partnership with New Brunswick public libraries — reading books from all genres and all with a connection to New Brunswick.
"I have wanted to make books since I was a young girl," said Stoddart, who is now an elementary school teacher and an author and illustrator.
Sea Glass Summer tells the story of a young girl named Molly and her special relationship with her grandmother. The pair love to spend time together every summer collecting shells and sea glass along the beach at their cottage.
"I can relate to Molly in the story, moving away, because my family left New Brunswick when I was a young girl," said Stoddart, who grew up in Waterloo, Ont.
She said she writes about New Brunswick because of "the geography, the lure, the pull, the magic of the ocean and the seashore."
" Sea Glass Summer is based loosely on our family cottage in St. Martins and it's about the connection between the generations," Stoddart said, and there are "little snippets of my past sprinkled throughout the story."
Book club members relate to summers at the beach
Stoddart read her story to book club members at the Grand Manan Public Library, and her soft, soothing voice helped keep them riveted to the story.
She paused throughout to ask questions about their personal connections to things in the book, including a "wishing rock" that Molly finds on the beach.
Rory Greene said that, like Molly, he also had a wishing rock, and Sadie Greene said if she had one, she would "wish for a horse."
Stoddart remembers being the same age as the children in the book club and said as the "big sister" in her own family, she grew up playing school and writing stories for her younger sisters.
We're back with books and backroads with another edition of books and backroads this week. CBC's Saint John host Emily Brass discusses "Sea Glass Summer" with some young readers from Grand Manan.
She credits her "amazing teacher" in Grade 4 for seeing her interest in writing and giving her extra time to work on stories and even create illustrations for them.
When she launched her first book her teacher was there.
"That brought tears to my eyes," Stoddart said.
Stoddart said she usually starts with the narrative, then works on the visual side.
"I tend to get the story written first," she said.
"And then I start to storyboard and figure out, 'OK, which words will go with which page and which illustrations and where will it make sense to turn the page.'"
She was "surprised and delighted" to be part of Books and Backroads and admits she can often be critical of her work, something she is trying to overcome.
"It's just been an absolute delight," Stoddart said. "It's just such a charming series to feature 'off the beaten path' public libraries. They are the heart of the community and I love that this spotlight is being brought to them in the far reaches of our province."