Heather, Feather, & Kumquat and the Treasure of a Teachable Heart

By Brenda Richmond Wood

Heather, Feather, and Kumquat are three little hedgehog princesses born to King Hedgric and Queen Cassia. Their birth is welcomed with great joy throughout the kingdom, and to commemorate the event, each infant is presented with a royal gemstone set in a crown and mounted above her cradle.

Time goes on, and as the girls grow up, they begin to take all their comfort and privilege as an entitlement. The life of a princess has, all too quickly, become about self and possessions.

This worsening behavior has not been lost on Dad and Mom. But as king and queen, Hedgric and Cassia have allowed their focus to become ever more about public duty and governing well. They reason that so many livelihoods depend on them, whereas the girls are surrounded constantly by people who love them and genuinely enjoy caring for their every need.

It will take a wake-up call, but this mind-set will not distract them forever; it has only delayed the inevitable!

While the king and queen are away on a long-awaited trip, things back at home come to a boiling point. Upon the parents return, its discovered that valuable items have gone missing, and unfortunately, the girls rush to place the blame on their visiting cousins.

As revealed early in the story, issues already exist within the family, which have been pushed aside even longer. These two matters of contention will ultimately collide head-on!

King Hedgric and Queen Cassia are finally determined to set things right on both counts and orchestrate a series of teaching moments, first aimed directly at the girls. What results is a paradigm shift for everyone involved!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512791921

Brenda Richmond Wood

Prior to writing this book I worked as an illustrator for a Math/Science foundation for 23 years. My job involved cover and interior artwork for classroom activity books, grades K-9, as well as banners, and posters (for companies such as British Petroleum) used in educational outreach, and manipulatives (including an "astronaut counter" for NASA). I was also able to write and publish 19 original poems, on subjects as varied as bats to volcanoes, to the five senses. In elementary school I was always the kid they called out of class to do bulletin boards, so being able to draw, and visualize the finished product, was a talent well worth having! I live in California, am married to a retired Science teacher/professor/ custom woodworker, and have a daughter, a son, three stepsons, and six grandchildren.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-9191-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9192-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017909640

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/07/2017

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Dedication

I dedicate this book:

To my children, Mariel and Nicholas, who I treasure beyond words

and the space it would take to tell you all the reasons why.

To my husband Mike, who has borne with patience, and endless

encouragement, this birthing process. I hope you know how thankful I am for you in my life!

To my sister Stephanie, for her willingness to place this God-given idea in my care, and also for her patronage. It’s my hope, that as King David said (2 Samuel 24:24), God would say of this, we were not willing to make an offering to Him which cost us nothing.

To our Gemma, who is sweet, hilarious, sunshine, and the best texter in the whole wide world; aptly named!

Plus, a special thank you to our dear friend Ahmad for his gracious help, and to his precious parents who raised him that way.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Foreword

The only way I can begin to describe this book is, as a gift. For me it all began one morning with a telephone call from my first-born (I am no longer allowed to refer to her as my older…) sister. The conversation started out with the usual, Hey, how’s it going?, and from there, pleasantries aside, moved on to, "I have