(Photo provided)
New Martinsville resident Jan Thornton Jones poses with her new children’s book “Autumn is Calling.”
New Martinsville resident Jan Thornton Jones has written a new children’s book – “Autumn is Calling.”
The book is about the customs and culture of Appalachia and features a girl named Katie, who learns about the fall season while on a walk with her mother at a fall festival.
“I absolutely love fall. I love the changing leaves. I love the crisp air and wearing sweatshirts and sweaters. I love pumpkins and colorful mums,” Jones said. “In this book, the reader is exposed to old Appalachian customs such as quilting bees, making apple butter over an open fire, Appalachian music played on a fiddle and homemade folk toys.
“Also, the reader follows Katie and her mom as they walk to the Autumn festival. They observe squirrels scampering in trees and hiding nuts for the winter. Mom compares it to the canning of applesauce and other produce so that Katie can enjoy it during the long winter days ahead.”
Jones said she hopes the story will help children learn about the season of Autumn and more.
“And I hope that the readers learn about some of the very old customs that were common to West Virginia and Appalachia in general,” she said. “The beautiful and original artwork that is displayed in this book really shows the children the beauty of some of these customs.”
The book’s illustrator is Katarina Boyer Case of Salem, W.Va.
“It was her first book and she did a marvelous job,” Jones noted.
Jones said as a former teacher she always had stories in her mind.
“After retirement, I just decided that I would refresh some of those ideas, write them into stories and see if I could get them published,” she said “My first book to be published was ‘The Angel in the Park.’ It is a faith-based book about a little girl who is trying to help the homeless people in her community. After it went out of contract with the original publisher, it was picked up by a different publisher and reprinted as ‘The Angel in City Park.’ My second book was called ‘Why Me?’ and is the story of an ornery little boy that has to learn that his actions have consequences.
“My third book is called ‘Last Letter to Gettysburg’ and is written for older kids around 4th-6th grade. In this story, Levi, who lives in Gettysburg during the Civil War, has received one last letter from his father who has died in the war. In this story, which is historical fiction, Levi meets President Lincoln at the dedication of the cemetery in Gettysburg.”
Jones grew up in Texas and moved to West Virginia in the eighth grade. She attended Magnolia High School and West Virginia University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education. She also has a master’s in communications and a master’s in early intervention special education. Jones lives in New Martinsville with her husband and their two dogs.
“I am the proud mom of two adult children and two grandchildren. I am also in charge of music at my local church where I play keyboard and am a frequent vocalist,” she said. “All of my books are sold locally at The Cellar Door in downtown New Martinsville on North Street. They can also be purchased through Amazon or they can contact me directly through my website, janjonesbooks.com.”
Jones is a Mom’s Choice Award Honoree and was a featured author during the 2022 American Library Association National Conference in Washington, D.C.
She is slated to sign her books at the Fall Craft Festival in the parking lot of the First Church of God, 255 Russell Ave., New Martinsville, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 28. On Oct. 5 she will be signing books at The Book Store, 161 North St., New Martinsville.
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