This is exciting stuff. We finally have a cover for our book, and what a cover it is. At the top is a colorized version of a splendid late 1940s-era black and white picture given to us by Cora Katzen (center). Cora’s a charming and funny woman who shared her stories for Growing Up St. Louis of trying to join a circus and of being thrown off a horse. At the bottom are two girls on a roller coaster looking like they’re ready to propel out of the cover and into our laps. Then there’s the addition to the cover. No longer is it just Growing Up St. Louis, but Growing Up St. Louis: Looking Back Through the Decades.
It’s enough to make any book lover grab a copy, run to the checkout counter and buy a copy. With stories from more than 100 St. Louisans he interviewed, plus seven written accounts of life at the start of the 20th Century, plus ten essays about the lives of kids to 1900 until now, it’s guaranteed to make all of us realize how much our childhood experiences shape our lives.
It makes for great reading, starting with the book’s release in April but it also also makes for great programs, especially at the Launch Event, at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 11 at the St. Louis Public Library’s Central Library, 1301 Olive Street, downtown. There’ll be a panel discussion with some of my favorite “interviewees” and a presentation by me. I’ll be around to sign the book before and after. You can find a complete list of programs in the “Upcoming Events” section of this website. In April, you also can buy a book through this website. What a book this will be.
Jim Merkel the Writer 