Jeron Ashford works as a librarian in a graduate school library but her real love is for children's literature. Her first picture book, Yesterday I Had the Blues, was published by Tricycle Press and won the Ezra Jack Keats Award, the Bank Street College Claudia Lewis Poetry Award, and was featured on PBS's Between the Lions. She lives with her cat just outside of Philadelphia. Stacey Schuett has written and illustrated dozens of picture books, including Somewhere in the World Right Now, Purple Mountain Majesties, and Marching with Aunt Susan, winner of Best Children's Books of the Year (starred) Bank Street College of Education 2012, and Teachers Choices, IRA 2012. Her well-loved books have won many awards, including the New York Public Library's One Hundred Books for Reading and Sharing Award, 2007. She lives in Northern California with her family.
"A delightful and beautiful story that shows a simple, common object can unite neighbors and our families. Let the light shine." -- Jennifer Fosberry, author of the New York Times bestseller My Name Is Not Isabella "Light symbolizes hope, and festivals incorporating light and candles are found in many cultures, especially during winter.Ashford uses a single candle to weave a story of intergenerational and multicultural friendship. On Thanksgiving, Nana Clover realizes that she doesn't have a candle for her table and asks the super for one. Later, another family doesn't have a special braided havdalah candle to mark the Jewish Sabbath's end and borrows the half-used candle from Nana Clover. A few days later, the Ericksons find that one of the candles on their Saint Lucia crown is broken. They ask the Danzigers, and the same little candle continues its trip. The African-American family in 5A celebrating Kwanzaa needs the candle next, because the baby has eaten one of the seven candles for the kinara. Finally, a winter storm causes a power outage, and Nasreen and Faruq, who have just moved in, are concerned that their father won't find the building. Their mom suggests borrowing a candle from their neighbors, and the stubby piece of wax lights their father's way. Soon, all the neighbors join in to welcome the new family. The richly textured paintings highlight the glow of the small candle; the family portraits, too, glow with warmth. An author's note provides a brief overv iew of each celebration. The story's acknowledged tidiness facilitates its reassuring theme of neighborly sharing and assistance and makes it easily adaptable to a wide variety of settings. (Picture book. 5-8)" --Kirkus Reviews "Winter Candle is an inspiring winter story about one candle that spreads light and hope through five different families of different faiths or origins in a single apartment building. The candle is humble and stubby, not special looking at all, but because it is shared, as a gift in need, it burns brightly for all the families at Juniper Court. Thus, Nana Clover has a Thanksgiving centerpiece, the Danziger family has a havdalah candle to bless the ending of Sabbath, the Erickson's have a Santa Lucia candle for Kirsten's crown to celebrate Santa Lucia Day, Donte's family has a Faith candle for the kinara, and finally Nasreen and Faruq have a candle to help guide their father to their new apartment home when the power goes out. Winter Candle is a gentle story of hope and sharing, illuminated with loving illustrations that gleam like a beacon in darkness. For children who wish to learn more about the different holiday celebrations, there is a referral in the Author's Note to Creston Book's website for curriculum guides and activities. Winter Candle has an inspiring message for all: Faith and light and love are meant to be shared." --The Midwest Book Review "In this special picture book the message of sharing and togetherness burns as brightly through the narrative as the candle in the story does. Children will see how people of different backgrounds help one another out and share what they have." --Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews "An older red brick apartment building with a lit candle in the upper corner window graces the cover of Winter Candle. Jeron Ashford has her readers visit different family apartments with a single candle connecting them all. Nana Clover needs a candle for her Thanksgiving centerpiece and all she has is a used candle she finds in a drawer, but it does the trick! A few weeks later the Danziger family is in need of a Havdalah candle and Nana gladly gives her candle to them. Next, Apartment 4D needs a candle to complete their Saint Lucia crown and then Apartment 5A needs a Faith candle for the Kinara. The candle has taken part in many different multicultural celebrations, but alas, it needs to burn brightly one more time for the new family moving into Apartment 5A. A blustering snowstorm is taking place in the city and the power is down. Will papa find his way with the moving truck full of furniture? Yes, the candle lights the way as all neighbors join in to welcome him. Winter Candle is a great read to introduce the various celebrations held during this time of year. Recommended for ages 4 to 7." --Ingram Youth Librarian Reviews "Winter Candle is a profound story of how the bright light of a single candle can bring people from different cultures together. Jeron Ashford has written a very simple little tale full of plenty of meaning, but it would not be complete without the brilliant talent of Stacey Schuett who brings full color and detail together in a way that is truly astounding. The warmth of the story is very well demonstrated throughout the illustrations and the reader can't help but smile as each of the families shares what they have with the others. A humble yet profound message, brilliantly illustrated and full of warmth, Winter Candle will melt even the most frozen of hearts." --Readers' Favorite "In this special picture book the message of sharing and togetherness burns as brightly through the narrative as the candle in the story does." --Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews "A lovely and heartwarming story for the holidays (and everyday) about sharing, caring, and supporting others' needs and traditions. Schuett's rich illustrations glow as warmly and as brightly as the story's candle. Author Ashford concludes with a brief note about the holidays mentioned in her story." --Good Reads With Ronna "One woman needed a candle because it was Thanksgiving, but she didn't have one. So she borrowed one from the owner of the apartment building. Then, another family needed a candle for ending the Sabbath. They borrowed the candle. A third family borrowed it because it was the day of Saint Lucia. It was used for a Kwanzaa candle, and finally it lit the way for the dad to get home safely. I liked the story because everyone is sharing one little candle; it goes from one family to another to another -- it goes on and on and on. One little candle can complete one little miracle. I liked how it made all the neighbors get to know each other and be friends with each other even though they were different and celebrated different holidays. At the end of the book you can learn about the different holidays; we learned about it one by one. The pictures were really absolutely fun; the people seemed friendly and like the families loved each other. Five stars" --San Francisco Chronicle It's Thanksgiving in an apartment building in the city, and Nana Clover has forgotten to get a candle for her traditional centerpiece. The only thing the building superintendent can come up with is an ugly lumpy stump of a thing, but it'll do. And so the candle's journey begins, from one apartment to the next, from one seasonal celebration to another. This could easily get bogged down in sentimentality, but Ashford gracefully describes the little candle's power to shine through a Jewish family's havdalah ceremony, to gleam on a Scandinavian Saint Lucia crown, to dance on a kinara holder during Kwanzaa, and to glitter enough to welcome and guide a new family to the building during a storm. Schuett's gorgeously rich and textured illustrations glow with shadows and stars. Even the youngest children will understand that though we may have different ways to celebrate our varied faiths, if we can all share kindness and extend a hand to our neighbors, the light will shine that much brighter. --Portland Press Herald "What a beautiful idea Jeron Ashford had while writing this book. Stacy Schuett's illustrations are bright, colorful and definitely engaging as they match the text perfectly and will definitely assist students in understanding the different celebrations and cultures discussed throughout the book." --Novel Nutritious "I really liked that this book had all different kinds of holidays and all different reasons for needing the candle. The ending reminded me of what the holidays are all about - giving and being with friends and family." --Deal Sharing Aunt "A heartwarming story about a family in the process of moving to an apartment building in an unnamed city which follows the path of a single candle as it travels from each new neighbor to neighbor until it winds up in the mostly empty apartment where the family waits for the father to unite with them (reminds me in a way of my favorite Thanksgiving film, 'Pieces of April', only more for a very young audience)... I was so happy to see it since a family I know is in the process of a move (with kids feeling some trepidation going from rural to city life)who it is utterly perfect for, but the celebration of community, diversity and welcoming is something anyone can relate to, moving or not." --Tattered Cover, blogpost
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