Stuff We Love: A Winning Children’s Book Relevant to the Times

Local author Heather Shumaker's "The Griffins of Castle Cary"

By Lynda Wheatley | May 23, 2020

Heather Shumaker, northern Michigan mom and author of renegade rule-making parenting books “It’s OK Not to Share” and “It’s OK to Go Up the Slide” just won a 12-state award from the Chicago-based Society of Midland Authors for her debut novel, “The Griffins of Castle Cary.” Aimed at kids ages 8–12, the adventure-filled tale follows the three Griffin children as they set out, along with their Newfoundland dog, to solve a spooky mystery in the English countryside Mendip Manor — and save the youngest sister from a grieving ghost. Spookier yet, if you ask us, the 2019-published pages is a bit prescient, with what Shumaker calls “some pandemic tie-ins” that seem particularly timely right now: fear of dying, conflicts between believers and non-believers, and how recognizing that we are all in this together is a critical step in keeping the vulnerable among us safe. Find “The Griffins of Castle Cary” at local bookstores or www.heathershumaker.com.