"Creativity can be a powerful tool for 'alleviating suffering and fighting injustice,' according to this graceful guide from children's author Perkins. Even those who've never picked up a pen or a paintbrush will be inspired." --Publishers Weekly "One of the essential joys of reading is finding that 'yes!' on the page, that 'aha!' Nothing is better than encountering that anecdote, that thought, that idea with which you resonate deeply. If you are a creative, you'll discover many such moments tucked between the covers of Just Making. There are whole libraries of how-to books dedicated to craft-building, and to the pursuit of commercial success as a creative, but fewer that lean into the necessary steps to secure what is good, what is healthy, what is healing for the artist's heart. This is one such book. As creatives, we must fortify ourselves daily if we're to survive the journey. Perkins suggests intuitive perspectives and practices that can guide us.
Readers will thank her for them. I certainly do." --Nikki Grimes, bestselling and award-winning author of Ordinary Hazardsand other books "By inquiring into the relationship between the making of art and the performance of justice, Mitali Perkins foregrounds questions that any serious creative has to grapple with. By identifying and clarifying the kinds of questions that need to be asked about that relationship, and by setting them in such a winsome and vulnerable and engaging form, she has done those serious creatives an enormous service. This is a book to be read with gratitude." --Gary D. Schmidt, Newbery Honor and Printz Honor author of The Wednesday Wars and other books "Just Makingis a balm to every soul wrestling with how to pursue beauty in a weary world. With tenderness and wisdom, Perkins compassionately reminds us that our art is not separate from justice, but intertwined with it.
She offers a compassionate commissioning for us to make art justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. This expansive offering of hope reminds us that in the work of our hands, we hold a sacred call to co-labor in the renewal of all things. I needed this book." --Kayla Craig, author of Every Season Sacredand To Light Their Wayandcreator of Liturgies for Parents "Mitali Perkins is an exceptional teacher and writer, and in Just Making, she brings her immense gifts and wide experience together in a book that is both rich in ideas and pragmatic in application. In engaging, accessible prose, Just Makingprovides theological and practical insights to give readers ways to understand that creativity--in all its forms--is not a luxury or a move away from a faithful life, but deeply connected to justice and shalom." --Dr. Jennifer L. Holberg, chair of Calvin University English Department and author of Nourishing Narratives.