The Infinite Song, an award-winning children’s book written and illustrated by Woodacre resident Andrea Freeman, seeks to reawaken the magic of being. In the allegorical story-poem, which the author says “reminds readers to celebrate life as peaceful, loving stewards of the Earth and to honor their connectedness to one another, this beautiful planet, and the mystery from which all life emerged,” God takes on a female pronoun. The first few pictures are swirls of deep blues, yellows, reds and purples, the amorphous beginnings of the universe. “So with Her great might/She condensed the Light,/and held it as one might hold clay;/and from Her infinite mind/began to unwind/images with which to play.” The pictures, painted in acrylics and watercolors, showcase the diversity of life that Ms. Freeman calls “our kin.” The book takes a turn after the creation of the universe when the reader encounters a forlorn man, gazing out his window amidst the drear of city life, who “has a great longing/for a sense of belonging.” The book, which won 2014 International and Independent Publisher’s Book Awards, ends on a hopeful note because, as Ms. Freeman said, despite the critical juncture we face in terms of our relationship to the earth, “we can potentially turn things around. There is no separation between any of us. We are all part of this unfolding.” The Infinite Song is available at local bookstores and through Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
This article was revised on Aug. 15.