Jean Arleen Breed has lived all her life in the Champlain Valley of the Adirondack Mountains.

The destruction of the Lake Champlain Bridge in Crown Point, NY, gave Jean the needed push to write her first book - The Loss of the Lake Champlain Bridge.  She wanted to preserve the images and feelings of those difficult times in the Champlain Valley.

With the loss of that single bridge, thousands of people in the Champlain Valley were struggling to keep their jobs and business going. What had been a simple commute for many turned into a nightmare of driving 1,000 miles a week. Jean was writing poems for friends during that time, encouraging them to keep going. As time went on, her friends said, "You have to write a book about this!" That encouragement was what it took for Jean to write her first book, The Loss of the Lake Champlain Bridge.

The first book-writing experience was so much fun, Jean write her second book, Poems from the Champlain Valley. "I challenged myself to write 100 poems just to see if I could do it. That book was so much fun to write, as I could write about the things that were close to my heart - the joys of childhood, the courage of our soldiers, the mysteries of life, the true blessing of friendship, and the magic in the Bible."

Jean's third book, Paper Girl, is a historical reminiscence that tells the story of a young girl delivering newspapers in Port Henry, NY , during the 1950s. With 50 historic photos, the book takes the reader back to a simpler time and place in Essex County history.

Jean's fourth book, The New Kid, is filled with sentimental memories of Grover Hills, Mineville, Moriah, Witherbee, westport, and Port Henry. It's the story of a young girl who, during the 1950s, went to five different grade schools and lived in the locations noted above. She was called The New Kid as she traveled from school to school. The book offers a glimpse of life as it was in Essex County 50 years ago.

Jean's fifth book, AdirondackPaper Girl, is a look at the author's life from the time she was very young until she graduated from high school. This title is available as a soft-cover book and an e-book on Barnes and Noble website and Amazon.com

Jean's sixth book, Sweet Memories, continues to chronicle the history of the area she calls home - the beautiful Champlain Valley of the Adirondack Mountains. With over 150 historic photos, this book is Jean's most ambitious project to date. She interviewed local senior citizens to get their perspective on life as it once was here long ago.  "Absolutely a labor of love th write this book. . ."

Jean is working on her seventh book - Little Towns - and hopes to publish it in 2017.

"I have so many books that are waiting in my heart, a list of books to be written, and it is long!"

Midwest Book Review
Helen's Bookshelf

Adirondack Paper Girl
Jean Arleen Breed
Alva Press
216 Hooker Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603-3324
9781938729072, $9.99, 82pp

Synopsis: "Adirondack Paper Girl is the tender and dignified autobiography of, Jean Arleen Breed, as she grew up in the Lake Champlain area of the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. Written as an anthology of autobiographic poems, "Adirondack Paper Girl" depicts Breed's life as the daughter of a miner forced by hard times to move his family from village to village. When they eventually settle in Port Henry, Breed becomes a paper girl delivering the news to people in all walks of life, many of whom become her friends.

Critique: Impressively well written, uniquely organized, and deftly presented, "Adirondack Paper Girl" is a memorable and unusual memoir that is a thoroughly absorbing read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for community and academic library American Biography collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Adirondack Paper Girl" is also available in a Kindle edition (9781938729089, $4.99) and in an ePDF format (9781938729096, $4.99).

Helen Dumont

All six of Jean’s books are available in paper edition locally at Gunnison’s Gift Shop in Crown Point, Tromblee’s Greenhouse in Crown Point, WAGS Store in West Addison, Sherman Free Library in Port Henry,  Black Watch Library in Port Henry and Nadeau's Farmstand in Ticonderoga.

Adirondack Paper Girl is also available as an e-book on www.amazon.com  and www.barnesandnoble.com

Books are also available from www.bloatedtoe.com or contact her directly.