I think every month should be gratitude month. I love what Chesterton said… “Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” (That’s the sort of math I am really especially fond of!) We pulled together a great roundup of books to help you celebrate the month of November, including some Thanksgiving picks plus a couple of mine… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Reading
Typed on an Olivetti Lettera 32
This is an Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriter (1963). It is one of the first portable typewriters. And how fitting because it is an extremely well-traveled typewriter. A globe-trotter. It’s lived in: London, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Oxford and now New York City. (Like me.) It was my mother’s and she gave it to me… Read more »
Top Ten Bird Books from a Budding Ornithologist (That Is, Bird Expert)
I attended boarding school in the UK in the New Forest (which, for the record, is not new – it’s ancient – but to the UK, it’s new!). My school, Manor House, was nestled in the middle of New Forest, which made for excellent adventures and encounters with all sorts of creatures, including my favorite,… Read more »
Connect with your kids through books
Are you looking to build deeper connections with your kids or students this year? I may be a little bit biased, but truly books are one of the best tools you can have for connecting with children. Sharing the stories that you loved when you were little; discovering new adventures together; making memories through bonding… Read more »
How to talk to God
Did you know that God is always listening to you? Did you know that God can hear the quietest whisper deep inside your heart, even before you’ve started to say it? Because God knows exactly what you need even before you ask him. You see, God just can’t wait to give you all that you… Read more »
10 (or 20) great reading quotes plus 10 (or 20!) great family read-alouds
It’s summer! And you know what that means… summer reading! I’m not talking about the scary book report kind. I’m talking about reading aloud, just for fun. Because shhh… no one talks about this much but reading aloud is actually just as much for the grown ups as it is for the kids! In case… Read more »
Picture books for welcoming a new baby
You might not know this but I am a big sister. When I was about two—long ago, back in the time of caves, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and parents left children in cars—my little newborn baby sister and I were left in the back of our car while our parents popped out—just a second…. Read more »
Happy Dr Seuss Day! And here are 10 great Seuss quotes
Happy Read Across America Day! I for one will be staying in my pajamas and reading all day long (I have to– I’ve already taken the pledge). And how fitting to celebrate Read Across America Day on the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel– the one and only Dr. Seuss! If you follow me on Twitter… Read more »
Billy Collins on poetry, obscurity and not being difficult enough
“I have spoken a lot about wilful obscurity in poetry – where the poet is hiding behind language, using it as camouflage – and I don’t have much tolerance for that kind of poetry,” Billy Collins It’s why I love Billy Collins. In writing picture books you can be generous or self-indulgent. If you’re showing… Read more »
libraries forever
E B White wrote this wonderful letter to a child explaining why libraries are important. Isn’t that great? Here are 10 other writers on libraries… Starting with my very favorite: “People can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned.” Saul Bellow “Without libraries we have no past and no future.” Ray Bradbury… Read more »