Welcome to my first-ever newsletter! I so appreciate your having bought my children’s picture books and wanted to share with you more of what’s going on in the amazing natural world my books explore!

December’s Cold Moon was amazing—and boy, did it ever fit its name perfectly. And although the temperatures were in the 20s here, there was no wind, and the sky was crystal clear. The only things visible against the velvet black were the Moon and a few planets, most notably a sparkling Jupiter. We bundled up in thermal, hand and toe warmers, hats, mittens, neck warmers, and of course, down jackets. The only part of me that got cold was my nose!

I took this photo of the Cold Moon at the annual Winter Lights display at Naumkeag, a property of the Trustees of Reservations in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, my phone’s camera made it a bit fuzzy. Regardless, the evening was spectacular.

On other sky news, the Quadrantid meteor shower will be active from the end of December to mid-January. If you’re lucky when you look to the northeast sky between midnight and dawn, you might just see 40 or more meteors per hour. They’ll be blue in color as they speed by. This photo is from space.com. What a great way to celebrate a winter’s night!

The holidays may be over, but who needs an excuse to buy books? All three colorfully illustrated picture books are told in cheerful rhyme and encourage children to look up to the sky and to the animal kingdom—and use their imagination.

You can find them wherever books are sold—or get them with a personalized message to the recipient by clicking here: carolgoodmankaufman.com

And gather your little ones around to listen to my podcast, “Skygazing With Carolinda” where they’ll hear all the latest on happenings in the sky!  Links are in the sidebar.