A Middlings Winter Tale

If you’re still shopping for a Chanukah gift for a special little person, you may want to check out a brand new children’s picture book by Howard Meyerowitz of West Hartford.

The self-published book called “A Middlings’ Winter Tale,” beautifully illustrated by Richard Farri, doesn’t have a Chanukah theme – but it is set in Hartford and it does have an important message about friendship and understanding to teach kids.

The story centers on a family of woodchucks who live in the highway median of I-91 between Meriden and Hartford, and visit their extended family who annually gathers under the lawn of the Old State House in Hartford. The main event of the gathers is the Gathering Story when a family member shares a new story about love and understanding. The theme of this year’s story is learning not to judge another creature unfairly because of false preconceptions, and how that lesson can lead to life-long friendship.

“I wrote this story as a way to teach children not to judge another person based on preconceived ideas without getting to know everything about that person first,” Meyerowitz says. “In my 38 years of teaching I have seen that children have become more accepting of other children who are different than they are. It has been a change for the better, and it would be nice to think a story like this will further add to that kind of understanding.”

For more information on “A Middlings’ Winter Tale” email Howard Meyerowitz at susan_mey@comcast.net.