Sandra Kring

Over the course of the summer of 1961, nine-year-old Evelyn "Button" Peters finds her life transformed by the arrival of Winnalee Malone, an imaginative young girl, and her free-spirited, fiery sister, Freeda. By the author of Carry Me Home. Original. 17,500 first printing.

The Book of Bright Ideas

Sixteen-year-old Earl Gunderman struggles with the problems of family and community in rural 1940s Wisconsin when his brother returns from a prisoner of war camp in the Philippines and his parents' marriage seems to be unraveling.

Carry Me Home

While Button opens a sewing business, Winnalee is targeted for her hippie activism and Winnalee's sister reveals a friendship-testing secret.

A Novel

A Life of Bright Ideas

In this tender novel set in 1955 Mill Town, Wisconsin, Sandra Kring explores the complicated bond between mothers and daughters, the pressure to conform, and the meaning of friendship and family. Ten-year-old Isabella “Teaspoon” Marlene has been a handful ever since her mother, Catty, dumped her with an old boyfriend and ran off to Hollywood. Teaspoon fights, fibs, never stops singing, and is as unpredictable and fearless as a puppy off its leash. Still, Teddy Favors, a man who has taken his share of kicks, is determined to raise her right. Teaspoon wants to be better for Teddy—even if that means agreeing to take part in a do-gooder mentorship program and being paired up with Brenda Bloom, the beautiful reigning Sweetheart of Mill Town. Against all odds, as the summer passes, this unlikely duo discover a special friendship as they face personal challenges, determined to follow their hearts instead of convention. It’s while Brenda and Teaspoon are putting together the grandest show the Starlight Theater has ever seen that Catty returns to Mill Town, shattering illusions and testing loyalties. But by the final curtain call, one determined little girl shows an entire town the healing that can happen when you let your heart take center stage.

Sandra Kring

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