A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.
Grandma, Does My Moon Shine Over Your House?
In 2008 when I formed Freundship Press, my Mom (Mary Hansen Freund) suggested an idea for a children’s book inspired by a conversation she had had years ago with one of her grandchildren. Mom said she was giving me the idea, but I asked if we could do it together instead and Mom agreed. Thus, Grandma, Does My Moon Shine Over Your House? was born!
Doing a children’s book with Mom was a natural fit because of her background raising and working with kids and her influence on me as a writer. In addition to her role as Mom to her own and other children, she was a gifted teacher, room mother and puppeteer. In fact, I cut my writing teeth proofreading Mom’s puppet scripts in elementary school. Mom and two other ladies, Joyce Cooper and Linda Baxter, formed the Merry Mother Puppeteers (MMP) and wrote and performed puppet shows in Idaho Falls area schools in the 1970s. For years after the MMP stopped performing, Mom continued making puppets for children who didn’t have any and for counselors and social workers who worked with abused children who would talk to puppets and not to people.
I found an illustrator, Kristin Berkis Cottier, and asked Kris Burnham, a designer who had laid out my previous book, if they would help out and they agreed. 
Mom and I worked together on text, illustrations, characters, and design. After about a year of putting the project together, we were ready for the final adjustments and tweaks to get the book done. Our goal was to have Grandma, Does My Moon Shine Over Your House? ready for publication by Christmas 2009 so that Mom could surprise her grandchildren. We did not quite make that goal, but the book is now available.
Sadly, Mom did not see the actual publication of Grandma, Does My Moon Shine Over Your House? because she died on August 29, 2009. However she knew that the book was going to be published and that she would be an author. Part of the proceeds of the book will go to some charitable projects (such as The Grandma Freund Library Drive described below).
Grandma Freund Library Drive
Mary Hansen Freund, AKA Grandma Freund, was a voracious reader who shared books and her love of them with people of all ages. The Grandma Freund Library Drive is named for her and recognizes her commitment to helping others.
Here’s how the Grandma Freund Library Drive works.
Purchase any number of copies of:
• Grandma, Does My Moon Shine Over Your House?
• Abuelita, ¿mi luna brilla sobre tu casa?
• Mooser on the Loose
and the books will be sent to school, public, church, daycare, or other libraries of your choice. You can even place the books In Honor of or In Memory of the person or persons you designate and have your name placed in the book with a Donated By notation.
Freundship Press, LLC will pay for the shipping to deliver your purchased book(s) to the library or libraries of your choice. If you don’t have any specific libraries in mind to receive the donation, the books will be sent to libraries chosen from a compiled list with an emphasis on school libraries.
The Grandma Freund Library Drive will continue with subsequent books published by Freundship Press, LLC.
Let's get books into 1,000 libraries!
To participate in the Grandma Freund Library Drive using check or money order, click here for a PDF order form.
To participate using your credit or debit card (via PayPal), select your purchase below.
Grandma, Does My Moon Shine Over Your House?
Abuelita, ¿mi luna brilla sobre tu casa? NEW!
Mooser on the Loose NEW!
For each book, you can send the following information to jane@freundshippress.com or have Jane contact you:
- To what library would you like this book sent? (If no preference is indicated, Freundship Press will choose a library for you.)
- Would you like the book placed In Honor of or In Memory of a particular person or persons?
- Would you like the book listed as Donated by a particular person or persons or anonymously?
Thank you for your contribution!