Life with Lily, Adventures of Lily Lapp Series #1

Mary Ann Kinsinger was raised Old Order Amish in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. She met and married her husband, whom she knew from school days and started a family. After they chose to leave the Amish church, Mary Ann began a blog, A Joyful Chaos, as a way to capture her warm memories of her childhood for her own children. From the start, this blog found a ready audience and even captured the attention of key media players, such as the influential blog AmishAmerica and the New York Times. She lives in Pennsylvania.

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of The Choice, The Waiting, The Search, The Keeper, and The Haven, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, W. D. Benedict, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Christy Award nominee and is the host of an internet radio show called Amish Wisdom. She lives in California.

Established author and Amish specialist Fisher (The Choice) teams up with debut novelist Kinsinger, author of the popular Amish blog A Joyful Chaos, for book one of the Adventures of Lily Lapp series depicting contemporary Amish life. From the initial drama of a new baby brother appearing (“Lily wished she had been home to meet God when He stopped by the house to bring a baby”), the story unfolds from the point of view of bright, well-loved Lily Lapp, who turns seven in the book. Amish and “English” (non-Amish) people intermingle matter-of-factly—English neighbors drive Lily’s brother Joseph to the hospital when he injures his arm, and Lily’s family bakes and sells goodies to the English. The drama comes mostly from within the community. Readers will relate to the mean Amish schoolteacher and Lily’s difficult friend Mandy, who manipulates her into getting in trouble. Adults’ concerns about making ends meet, illness, and death lap at Lily’s life, but her parents prove an unbreachable levee, protecting her and their way of life. The simple prose focused on daily living will appeal to those who like realistic fiction that comforts rather than challenges. Includes FAQ about the Amish. Ages 8–12. Agent: Joyce Hart, Hartline Literary Agency (Oct.)