I’m holding in my hands a lovely new book called “Blackberry Bend” by Debbie Hodson. It’s the story of two children who visit their Appalachian grandparents, along the way learning the value of being rooted in a particular place. The book is beautifully illustrated with watercolor illustrations by Miriam Moyer. If you love the mountains, especially the Appalachians of Kentucky and West Virginia, you will find “Blackberry Bend” enchanting.

I am drawn to it because I know Debbie Hodson very well. Her husband Roy is the General Director of the Scripture Memory Mountain Mission in Emmalena, Kentucky, home of one of my favorite places, Camp Nathanael. Roy and Debbie live on the banks of Troublesome Creek. They know and love the people and the land of southeastern Kentucky. Yo can order “Blackberry Bend” from IvyStone Press, P.O. Box 50, Emmalena, KY 41740. It’s a little jewel of a book, a colorful journey into a different world. The dedication reads “For those who will, one day, become caretakers of our Appalachian heritage.”

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