The Candy Monster: I got a call from the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival in Dowagiac, MI. The kind lady who called explained that they were wondering if I could come and speak at their festival in two years. I said I would love to, and then she explained that part of the gig was a forty-five minute set for pre-schoolers. That took the breath out of me. At that point, I wasn’t much of a pre-school teller. I hemmed and hawed, and then I said, “Well, I don’t really have any material for that age group.” She said, “Do think you could come up with something- over the next twenty-four months?” I saw her point. And then I saw a lollipop stuck to my daughter Ellie’s coat. It took off from there.
