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WORK TITLE: The Story People
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: St. Louis
STATE: MO
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.cph.org/m-190-heather-kaufman.aspx
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married 2010; husband’s name Andrew; children: one son.
EDUCATION:McKendree University, B.A.; University of Missouri–St. Louis, M.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO, associate editor.
AWARDS:Fellowship of Christian Poets’ 2006 Poet of the Year.
WRITINGS
Contributor to anthologies, magazines, and newspapers.
SIDELIGHTS
Heather Kaufman was homeschooled her entire childhood, as her military family moved on a regular basis. She lived in numerous states, including New York, California, Oklahoma, and Illinois. She wanted to write almost her entire life and ended up getting a B.A. in English from McKendree University and an M.A. in English and writing studies from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. She has worked in the publishing industry since 2008 and is an associate editor at Concordia Publishing House.
Kaufman is the author of two books, Hungry Mouths, Hungry Hearts: The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, published in 2001, and the novel The Story People, published in 2016. The Story People is two stories in one. Ben Palermo is the owner of Palermo’s bookstore in New Holden, Indiana. He is single and lonely and the object of much attention by the older ladies of the town, who are determined to fix him up with the right girl. Unfortunately, Ben hasn’t yet met the right girl. And then Rosemary Berg comes to town to care for her grandmother. She is a children’s book illustrator and meets Ben at a church function. Thus begins a comedy of errors as two lonely people try to get together.
The secondary story line in The Story People takes place in an “otherworldly” place where two children have a secret room where they converse with their imaginary friends and bond over their love of stories. Their imaginary friends are the Story People, who recite tales, then eat them in order to survive.
Reviewers praised Kaufman’s novel. A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote: “Readers will enjoy this sweet tale of a unique bookstore and the patrons that love it.” The critic added: “The sections about the Story People, however brief, bring a nice undercurrent concerning the state of reading and the power of the imagination.” A contributor to the Laurie Here website commented: “This is a fun book that will put a little smile on your face as you read it!” The reviewer added: “At the end of every chapter there was a small section written about The Story People. It’s worth reading this book for that part alone!!”
BIOCRIT
ONLINE
Heather Kaufman Website, http://kaufmanhm.wixsite.com/hmkstories (July 3, 2017).
Laurie Here, http://www.lauriehere.com (December 19, 2016), review of The Story People.
Publishers Weekly Online, https://www.publishersweekly.com (June 28, 2017), review of The Story People.
Heather Kaufman
Heather Kaufman grew up in a military family and has lived in numerous states, including New York, California, Oklahoma, and Illinois. She is the oldest of six, and was homeschooled her whole life. Her passion for writing and telling stories started at an early age, from scribbled poetry at age six, to a full-length novel by sixteen.
Heather received her BA in English from McKendree University and an MA in English, Writing Studies from the University of Missouri—St. Louis. She has had both creative and academic work published in various anthologies, magazines, and newspapers, and was named the Fellowship of Christian Poets’ 2006 Poet of the Year. She has worked in publishing since 2008 and is an Associate Editor for Concordia Publishing House.
Heather married Andrew in 2010, and together they have one adorable son and one persnickety dog. When not reading, writing, editing, or purchasing books, Heather can be found exploring new parks with her family, enjoying yet another cup of coffee, or working on yet another home improvement or organizational project. She and her family make their home in St. Louis.
BIO
Heather Kaufman grew up in a military family and has lived in numerous states, including New York, California, Oklahoma, and Illinois. She is the oldest of six, and was homeschooled her whole life. Her passion for writing and telling stories started at an early age, from scribbled poetry at age six, to a full-length novel by sixteen.
Heather received her BA in English from McKendree University and an MA in English, Writing Studies from the University of Missouri—St. Louis. She has had both creative and academic work published in various anthologies, magazines, and
newspapers, and was named the Fellowship of Christian Poets’ 2006 Poet of the Year. She has worked in publishing since 2008 and is an Associate Editor for Concordia Publishing House.
Heather married Andrew in 2010, and together they have one adorable son and one persnickety dog. When not reading, writing, editing, or purchasing books, Heather can be found exploring new parks with her family, enjoying yet another cup of coffee, or working on yet another home improvement or organizational project. She and her family make their home in St. Louis.
The Story People
Heather Kaufmann. Concordia, $12.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-7586-5625-4
In an otherworldly space, two children have a secret room where they bond over their love of stories and interact with their imaginary friends, the Story People, who eat the tales they recite in order to stay alive. Outside of this magical setup but somehow nearby is Palermo’s bookstore in New Holden, Ind., owned by single and lonely Ben Palermo. In the small town, Ben is a hot commodity, and Mrs. Baumgartner, Mrs. Gardner, and Mrs. Frank have elaborate plans to fix Ben up with someone. Ben goes along with their schemes but never has his heart captured by the many suitors they present. Enter Rosemary Berg, in town to care for her grandmother. Rosemary is a children’s book illustrator who loved Palermo’s as a child and runs into Ben during a sale at the local church. As the story progresses, chapters end with italicized sections returning to the secret room and the Story People. Kaufmann’s winsome main narrative following Ben is full of misunderstandings, high jinks, and lonely people who find one another despite the many obstacles that stand in the way. The sections about the Story People, however brief, bring a nice undercurrent concerning the state of reading and the power of the imagination. Readers will enjoy this sweet tale of a unique bookstore and the patrons that love it, but some might wish for less of the formidable Mrs. Gardner and the quest to get Ben hitched. (Nov.)
Monday, December 19, 2016
#Book #Review The Story People, a novel, by Heather Kaufman
DESCRIPTION:
“[A] winsome main narrative . . . full of misunderstandings, high jinks, and lonely people who find one another despite the many obstacles that stand in the way.”
—Publishers Weekly
Bookstore owner Benjamin Palermo is ready to turn the page to the next chapter of his life, and every lady in town is eager to help by finding him a suitable wife! The subtle humor and gentle inspiration of The Story People will encourage readers to savor life's little snippets of joy.
MY TAKE:
3 Stars!!
This book is a Christian Fiction book, as there is a lot of prayer in it, the characters asking for things to go their way. This is not in the description and took me by surprise when they just started praying. I usually do not review Christian Fiction, so this was a surprise for me. It was not anything I couldn’t live through, but I would have liked to have known.
Yes, Benjamin Palermo is the owner of the local bookstore. Ben inherited it from his uncle, the same place he used to go to when he was a little boy and play with a little girl named Rosie. Ben barely remembers that time in his life, but as he goes through some momentos, those memories do come back. He remembers The Story People, people who eat the stories out of the books at night! He and Rosie used to talk about them a lot, and Rosie drew pictures of them for Ben.
Back in everyday life, Ben is “the bachelor” that everyone wants to marry off! This gets pretty severe for the guy! He has not been able to choose his own dates as the women of the town seem to fix him up! That is until one day when a woman named Rosemary walks into the shop! He likes her!
Fast forward - he decides he wants to sell the bookstore. STOP! Not according to the little old ladies who live there! He WILL keep the bookstore! Oh, they devised a plan to jinx his selling the store! It was hilarious! It’s worth it to read this book just for that!
With the old ladies exposed, now Ben works on Rosemary and charming her! Everything backfires on him!
This is a fun book that will put a little smile on your face as you read it! It’s entertaining, the old ladies are nosey, and things work out the way they are supposed to, whether Ben wants them to or not!! This book is a nice change of pace as long as you don’t mind prayer being in your books.
One of the best parts of this book were about The Story People, and how they fit into the bookstore and the book. You’ll enjoy that very much. At the end of every chapter there was a small section written about The Story People. It’s worth reading this book for that part alone!! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher, Concordia, for free to read and write a review of my own opinion.