Chicken’s In Birthday Suits, as an EBook, is free for a few more days. The story is based on one of my friend’s traditions and great memory; birthday parties for each of their household’s egg layers.
Most of my children’s books are based on family traditions. When I was a kid many mothers created seasonal craft items and used over them and over every year. Weekly our family, and every other one I knew, gathered around the TV set every Friday for the Flintstones and every Sunday night for The Disney Hour. All kids acted out Davy Crockett, Swamp Fox or Scarecrow in our school yard and front lawns because we’d all seen the same stories Sunday nights.
Some of the memories, my strange mother created, were a little uncomfortable at the time. My brother, Don, and I were taken downtown on first Saturdays; big sale days. We didn’t mind watching her shop, or even being there an hour early. What we did mind was following her up and down, almost empty sidewalks, as she filled up her large special paper bag on handles. She’d painted two bright, colorful, circular National Litterbug symbols, about the size of a turkey platters. She glued one each to both sides of her litter bag, filled up, dumped it in a trash can and went at it again. Don and I followed at a “respectful” twenty paces behind her.
Making sweet and mildly embarrassing memories binds us together and anchors us to our families.  nancymauerman.com