Julia M. OBrien

The August 23, 2009, issue of The New York Times Magazine was devoted to how women are faring around the world—their political status, economic standing, and health.

This summer has not been kind to my backyard garden.  After a few weeks of prolific production, my squash and cucumber plants succumbed to powdery mildew.  Now, just as they are supposed to ripen in full glory, my tomatoes (the bread and butter of my garden) are waging war with late blight.  It’s been too wet here in south central Pennsylvania.  Not hot enough.

I just read an article about the huge success of the children's book series The Little Golden Books. According to an article by Claudia Anderson, Simon and Schuster first published the books in 1942, but their real success came when they hit the grocery stores.

In 1947, the Little Goldens appeared in supermarkets. Available and affordable in towns too small to have a bookstore, they democratized quality picture books for children. By 1959, more than 150 titles had sold over a million copies each. . .The Poky Little Puppy, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren, was on its way to becoming the best-selling English-language children's picture book of all time.

Thinking about the role of the grocery store in disseminating one kind of literature got me thinking about its role in the religious lives of the people whom it serves.