Slice of Life Story Challenge #27 - Vincent Comes Home

My focus this month is to explore writing invitations, mostly through newly published picture books, but possibly some other mentor texts as well.

Vincent Comes Home by Jessixa Bagley and Aaron Bagley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Vincent the cat lives an adventurous life on a cargo ship, traveling the world. He thinks he's seen just about every place, except he's curious about this place called "Home". The first and second mates keep talking about it, and he doesn't think they've ever stopped there. Finally, he decides to venture off the ship and follow the sailors to find out what this amazing place must be like. Of course, what he discovers is that it's not so much a place as it is where the people who love you are. He gets sad when he realizes he doesn't have a Home. But alas, he does! The captain is his Home! Sweet story. I loved Jessixa's book, Boats for Papa, so now I know I'm a fan! This one was illustrated by her husband, Aaron Bagley. Loved the illustrations as well.

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Writing invitation: What does Home mean to you? 

        My youngest daughter, Katie, returned home this weekend after living in Milwaukee and working at Kohl's Corporate for a little while.  Her return was a joyful occasion for all of us!  You see, we are Ohio folks.

        I was born in Cincinnati in 1966. When I was 2, we moved about 30 minutes north of Cincinnati to Mason, Ohio (then a quiet suburb with lots of rural farmland left, but has now grown into a bustling metropolis city) to a 7 1/2 country house, only straying from this area for college (Miami University in Oxford, Ohio - not very far away, and for the five years we lived in Pittsburgh from 1999-2004.  We loved Pittsburgh, but always felt a pull toward home.  It's where my best friends live (except for one), my husband grew up just north of here, and despite Ohio being somewhat boring, I guess, compared to some other exotic places to grow up, it's the heartland.  It truly is.

       We're thrilled to have both our oldest daughter and her husband, also a Cincinnatian, and now our youngest, in the same city!  Katie got a job here and will be looking for an apartment.  We also have one of Ed's sisters, one of her daughters (our niece, of course) and her husband, and another niece who will be doing her medical residency here!  Another niece is at college, so we'll have to see where she settles.  Home means family, neighbors, friends, and a sense of belonging.  The heartland.

       There's no place like home....