AMOUNT AIRY mother who has helped her family through deep personal loss is reaching out to children of the victims of the terrorist attacks Sept. 11.

Mary Nunemaker's husband, Brian, died of cancer eight years ago. The mother of four young children tried to make sense of the loss for herself and her family. She wrote a book based on a story told to her by her daughter Katie, 2 years old at the time.

Colored Dreams, Angel Wings recounts Katie's grief and bewilderment after the death of her father:

Her daddy is gone, she's not sure where.

She longs to hear the stories they shared.

They had things to do when she would turn three.

The story continues as the little girl is visited by her father in the form of an angel who reassures her.

I will always be here, I'm a big part of you.

To see what I mean here's what you must do:

Go look in the mirror, stand on your tiptoes.

Look at your face, I gave you that nose!

Nunemaker wants this story to help children whose parents were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"My plan is to first start at the firehouses in New York this summer to distribute the book to the children of those killed in the attacks," Nunemaker said.

She has launched a pledge drive with sign-up sheets in many Mount Airy businesses. For $10, donors can sponsor a book to be donated to the children of the victims. Each book will bear a label with the donor's name, city and state. In addition, part of the money will be donated to charitable funds set up for the victims. Nearly 100 books have been pledged and an additional $500 raised.

"I've received such a great response to the book from all ages, not just young children but people of all ages coping with the death of a loved one," Nunemaker said. "But I thought this would be particularly helpful to the children because of the illustrations. They are meant to be colored and there's even a page at the end for the child to draw an angel, what their angel looks like.

"It's a wonderful form for children to address and express feelings."

Nunemaker's daughter Katie now is a 10-year-old preparing to enter middle school. But the author feels the book continues to help her child remember her father.

Katie's favorite passage reads:

Soon she's asleep, her dreams make her smile.

"Sleep in peace," he says, "my dear baby child."

He bends down to kiss her, his wings tickle her cheek.

Katie bursts into giggles, angelic and sweet.

Nunemaker says her husband cared deeply about those coping with tragedy or loss and would talk about such people he had met at his chemotherapy sessions.

"He would see a lot of people who were struggling, and for me to donate the proceeds of this book to charities is somehow carrying on for him," she said.

Colored Dreams, Angel Wings is sold at Whistlestop Bookstore, 8 S. Main St., Mount Airy. Pledges also can be sent to Colored Dreams, Angel Wings, P.O. Box 586, Mount Airy, 21771.

'Dance Across America'

"Dance Across America," featuring 70 performers, will be presented at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Linganore High School.

Students at Mount Airy Performing Arts Center will perform ballet, jazz, tap and modern dance to American traditional and pop music. Local professional singer Steve Flynn will perform Frank Sinatra songs.

Fiona Elwood-Chaconas, owner of the performing arts center and certified as a teacher by the Royal Academy of Dance in Britain, said she chose the theme more than two years ago.

"Not being an American I felt I could research music from across the United States, but after September 11 the theme seems even more appropriate," she said.

Tickets are $5 and will be available at the door.

Information: 301-829-4244.

Scholarships awarded

American Legion Gold Star Post 191 of Mount Airy awarded a record number of academic scholarships this spring totaling $15,000.

Post scholarship winners are Nicole C. Beall, Linganore High School; Jenna Hubble, Urbana High School; Marissa McDermott, South Carroll High School, Douglas Wilburn, Calvery High School; and Katie Henley, Western Maryland College.

Winners of the Auxiliary Scholarships are Kimberly Orwig, named as the recipient of the nursing scholarship, Beall and Megan Dods, Linganore High School, and Henley and Hubble.

Winners of Sons of the American Legion Scholarships are Beall, Dods and Henley.

"What we try to do is to foster children to get a better education by providing these scholarships," said Arthur Brett, Gold Star Post member. "We think a child with good scholarship should be rewarded."

Lesa Jansen's Southwest neighborhood column appears each Friday in the Carroll County edition of The Sun.