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Published: 20 April 2019

Heidi Arneson's Coming of Age Story, "The Chalk Canoe," Releases May 2

   The obsession with perfection and the dangers it presents is explored in the latest novel by accomplished Minnesota writer Heidi Arneson. The Chalk Canoe officially launched the evening of May 2 at Open Book in Minneapolis.   The Chalk Canoe is the story of 13-year-old Cat McCloud. Set in the summer of 1973, Cat sits by the lake making outlandish wishes. She sees death around every corner. She concocts myths from the fabric of suburbia. She has a fiery ardor for both boys and girls, and a deep affinity with nature. The trees whisper secrets to her, the birds chirp warnings, and she sees beyond the shiny patina of her neighborhood into the spider-filled cracks of the town’s bloody past.   Cat’s dreaminess, introspection, and imagination are not welcome in her fictional hometown of White Rock. She is an outcast. Afraid to face the coming storms of adulthood alone, Cat shuts herself in and endlessly carves tiny canoes from sticks of chalk. Her carving increases her isolation. She obsesses over carving just one perfect canoe. This is an impossible task. Each stick of chalk breaks in her hands.  Only the new girl, Dee-dee Morton, can coax Cat away from her endless carving. Dee-dee has no time for perfection.

   A Midwest Book Review just came in for the book. It calls The Chalk Canoe, "An evocative story that excels in an original first-person observational style." Learn more about the book at InvisibleInkPublishing.com. 

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Published: 29 April 2019

Minnesota Mom Who Researched the Dangers of Screen Use for New Book Interviewed on WCCO Radio Apr. 29

   National Screen Free Week (April 28 - May 5) is a time to unplug from screen-based entertainment and let your imagination run wild. Judy Stoffel , the author of #Look Up: A Parenting Guide to Screen Use, was on the Cory Hepola Show on WCCO-AM in Minneapolis on April 29.

  #LookUp is a very well researched  book that provides parents with insight into the dangers kids who get too much screen time face. Among the findings revealed in the book: screen use can be addicting for children, much like drug use and gambling is for adults;  screen use can disrupt sleep patterns, cause memory problems, IQ declines, anxiety and depression; and Silicon Valley executives who are aware of the way cell phones and tablets have been engineered don’t let their own kids use them.
   Just last week,  the World Health Organization came out with some important recommendations regarding screen time and youngsters. WHO is recommending no screen time for children one and younger. In addition, for kids between 1 and 2, sedentary screen time such as watching TV or videos and playing video games is not recommended.  With children aged 2 to 4, “sedentary screen time should be no more than 1 hour; less is better,” the WHO advises, encouraging caregivers to be “engaging in reading and storytelling” instead, just as in younger age groups.

   Judy Stoffel is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), business professional, author, and mother. Stoffel grew up in La Crosse, Wisconsin and currently lives in Chanhassen, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, with her husband and 15-year-old son.
   Learn more about the book at TheLookUpBook.com.