Young Casey loves sparkly things, just like his older sister, who does not approve until an encounter with teasing bullies helps her learn to accept and respect Casey for who he is.

Tim Burton has had a massive impact on twentieth and twenty-first century culture through his films, art, and writings. This book examines how his aesthetics, influences, and themes reflect the shifting social expectations in American culture by tracing his Burton's move from a peripheral figure in the 1980s to the center of Hollywood filmmaking.

From breathtaking stop-action animation to bittersweet modern fairy tales, filmmaker Tim Burton has become known for his unique visual brilliance -- witty and macabre at once. Now he gives birth to a cast of gruesomely sympathetic children -- misunderstood outcasts who struggle to find love and belonging in their cruel, cruel worlds. His lovingly lurid illustrations evoke both the sweetness and the tragedy of these dark yet simple beings -- hopeful, hapless heroes who appeal to the ugly outsider in all of us, and let us laugh at a world we have long left behind (mostly anyway).

“I’m saying it’s okay to let things sit. But don’t steep too long. Things that once were crystal clear become infinitely more difficult to see through the murky water.” After her husband is killed in a tragic car crash, leaving her pregnant and her unborn daughter without a father, Kennedy is thrust into a life she never expected or wanted. Years later, she is faced with the possibility of moving on from her single life with her preteen daughter, Zoe, who is going through her own struggles and wondering about the father she never met. Forced to walk away from the life he had chosen as a pastor Nick had all but given up, but after seeing the newly widowed mother-to-be cling to God all those years ago, Nick chose to pull himself back to the One he knows wants what’s best for him, even when the going gets tough. Without the past clouding their vision, will Kennedy and Nick stop trying to fix each other and choose to be with each other, just as God made them? Imperfections and all? Join Kennedy, Nick, and Zoe in Steeped Tea as they work through their past, struggles, relationships, and faith.