How does a book get created? The Bucket Course on April 10, featuring local author Monique McLay Shore, will explore this question as she discusses “The Renfrow Book: The story behind the story.”
The course will take place from 10:00 to 11:30 am on Wednesday, April 10 at Drake Community Library. All are welcome to attend; no fee is charged, although donations are accepted toward cookies and coffee.
The course will feature firsthand insights into the book creation process as Monique Shore walks through the intricate steps involved in writing, illustrating, and publishing the book “No One Is Better than You: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of a Mother’s Words.” Shore will share about her journey from their first meeting with Mrs. Renfrow Smith in 2015 to her decision in 2023 to write and publish the book, through her most recent discussions with the subject of the book. She’ll discuss the process of developing the illustrations across three states and the ways in which the family was involved in every part of the book. The presentation will end with an author’s reading of the book and a time for questions.
Monique Shore is a native of southern Nevada, who attended Grinnell College in the mid-1980s and fell in love with the community of Grinnell, Iowa. After college she started working at the Grinnell public library. Her work managing library technology evolved to include digital archive projects, feeding her love for local history. She and her husband are the proud parents of a grown daughter and active members of the community and the local UMC church. The book’s illustrator, Erica L. Butler, is a freelance artist based in Seattle, Washington.
Members of the sponsoring Community Education Cooperative include Unity Point Health Grinnell, Grinnell College, Drake Community Library, Grinnell-Newburg School District, Grinnell Area Arts Council, Mayflower Community, Grinnell Education Partnership, Read to Lead, Grinnell Historical Museum, Grinnell School of Music, LINK, and Iowa Valley Community College. Videos of previous Bucket Courses are available on the YouTube channel Grinnell Community Education Cooperative.
