Janice D Green – Janice D. Green, author

Mystery Insect – An Adult Male Glowworm

A few years ago a most peculiar insect flew into my office and landed on my sweater. Its antennae were huge in comparison to the size of the insect. I contacted my friend Eric Eaton who is an expert entomologist who told me I had a male Glowworm Beetle. He gave me this link with scientific information about this glowworm.

I recall going fishing with my family on a riverbank in Indiana at night as a child when my mom commented on the Glowworms on the river bank. Had it not been for that experience, I would have had no clue about Glowworms.

I still have some unanswered questions. I spent some time this week trying to learn more about them. I learned that the larva stage glows in the dark. Females continue to glow in the dark and their appearance doesn’t change much from the larva stage to the adult stage. They don’t grow wings, but the adults have only six legs. The large antennae and wings are only seen on the adult male beetles.

Finding joy in nature – Get outside!

I grew up in northern Indiana before we felt the need for an air conditioner. The only phones were connected by wire to a phone jack on the wall. The earliest phone I remember was a wooden box attached to the wall. We turned a crank to get the operator and told her who we wanted to talk to. Then she connected us to their line.

The only mail we got was delivered to our mailbox every day. Email was unheard of. In my earliest years, there was no TV, only a radio. I remember sitting on it so we could hear it with less static.

Before anyone finds a reason to think of me as deprived, I insist that the exact opposite is true. I had the privilege of finding newborn kittens in the barn, hunting morel mushrooms in the woods, floating in an animal watering trough in a swamp in the middle of a field, sitting in an apple tree and discovering a stick that turned into an inchworm. I found another stick that was really a spider. I could go on and on.

The Backstory of Outside ABCs

When persistence paid off

I am a rare author who grew up as a reluctant reader. To this day, my reading preference is for children’s literature, which is what I write. I remember enjoying theme-writing in my senior English class. There was something about writing on what I cared about that appealed to me.

I also wrote a few poems in high school. A classmate challenged me to write a few stanzas on a poem she had started. That was fun, so I wrote a few more poems. Since my father taught science and English in high school, I showed him my poems. He pointed out so many things that were wrong with them that I decided writing poetry was too hard, and I would never write them.

Outside ABCs by Janice D. Green, ill by Jonathan Huff

I am beside myself with excitement! Outside ABCs released in April 2026. My gifted grandson, Jonathan Huff, is the illustrator.

These are the fantastic endorsements that were written about the book, even before Jonathan Huff’s amazing images and Ambassador International’s whimsical layouts were applied:

“As kids follow the alphabet, they will not only learn interesting facts about nature, they will also be inspired to explore the great outdoors. Did you know fiddleheads are a sign of spring and that velvet ants are wasps? Written in whimsical rhythm and rhyme, Outside ABCs is interesting, educational, and fun to read. The illustrations are creative, bright, and colorful and will capture the attention of every child who opens the book.” —Crystal Bowman (who also has had a chance to preview the completed PDF file with completed layout)

“The alphabet has never been so much fun! Janice Green’s Outside ABCs is a wonderful alphabet book, teaching children so many fun facts all written in effortless rhyme. The author’s descriptive language and rhythmic writing make this book a great addition to any library.” —Michelle Medlock Adams

Abigail and the Waterfall by Sandra L. Richter

Abigail and the Waterfall: Loving God’s Good Earth by Sandra L. Richter is a rich invitation to entice children and parents everywhere to get outdoors and enjoy God’s wonderful world. The illustrations by Michael Corsini bring out the beauty of the earth with a family enjoying a hike to their favorite waterfalls in the Appalachian Mountains. The story is told through the eyes of the young girl who is so in love with this special outing.

Sprinkled on the pages are well-chosen Bible verses tying God with his creation with many plants and animals identified along the way. Every time I re-read the story I noticed more specimens I had missed in the previous readings. The importance of the responsibility of people to care for the earth is seamlessly woven into the narrative. Reading this book makes one feel the joy of the child on every page as all of the five senses come to play.

I’m inspired to pack a picnic lunch and find an outdoor retreat near my home. Anyone want to join me? You will want to after you read Abigail and the Waterfall.