Linking Mrs Wishy Washy, the Kick-a-lot shoes and God

Tonight Tony and I attended a book launch for Joy Cowley's newest book - Made For Love. Apparently she was asked by a number of gay people to write some reflections them to use in celebrating their relationships. As she started writing it came to her that the reflections that work for same sex couples also work for opposite sex couples so the book is truly inclusive. Launch was held at our church, not any Catholic Church -Joy converted to Catholicism in her mid life - but book not wholly acceptable for Catholic diocese. Grant Robertson spoke tonight - second time in a month he has spoken at church. Joy Cowley in her speech noted she was "an ordinary person" which is pretty hard to believe - but you have to accept ordinary looking. Apparently easily mistaken, although she is called "the Elvis Presley of children's literature" she can move through life with people not stopping her for autographs. Photo shows her with husband Terry.

It is a long time since one of her early books - the Duck and the Gun- published in 1969 and still a favourite when you were children. Basically a war was averted because a duck was nesting in the canon. Joy also created a range of early readers - partly because she struggled with reading as a child. The Mrs Wishy Washy series were frequently read in our house - but I think all of us at some stage acted out the Kick-a-lot shoes.