March Events: BOOKS AS GIFTS: How to Choose Titles Children Will Love Instead of going back again and again to the same old favorites, learn how to choose current children’s literature that will leave kids wishing more people gave them books gifts. You will leave the session with the tools to make your own choices […]
Read moreI was very sad last week when I read that J.K. Rowling’s next book is being written for adults. It made me think of a conversation that Caroline and I had recently about writing. She told me that she was pretty sure it was harder to write a children’s book than it would be to […]
Read moreLast night at dinner, Katherine quieted the group, telling us all that she had a special announcement. “I got a new library card today. I lost my old one!” And then at bed time as we talked about our favorite parts of the day, Katherine said, “Getting my library card!” And then when I asked […]
Read moreA lot of my time as a Cybils panelist was spent discussing exactly what it means for a book to be an Easy Reader. There is such a huge range of books that are published under this descriptor. Just a quick glance at the Cybils’ Short List of Easy Readers will show you what I […]
Read more“Few children learn to love books by themselves. Someone has to lure them into the wonderful world of the written word; someone has to show them the way.” -Orville Prescott, A Father Reads to His Children
Read moreOne of the best parts of our recent trip to Richmond was our visit to bbgb, an absolutely fantastic children’s book store. I have two wonderful literary friends who live in Richmond and bbgb seemed like the perfect place to re-connect. Meg Medina (far left) is the author of Milagros: Girl from Away and Tia […]
Read moreWe just returned from four days in Richmond, Virginia. In this town, Rob and I graduated from college, lived as newlyweds and brought both our babies home for the first time. When we left nearly five years ago, we promised to come back again and again. After one quick visit, the winter after we […]
Read moreI found this note on Katherine’s desk tonight. It reads “I love myself.” Could a mother ask for anything more?
Read moreA few weeks ago I wrote a post about how simple it really can be to help your child become a reader. I got a great response from that post and was reminded again this week of how important this message is. I evaluated a little girl who is reading far below grade level. Her parents read […]
Read moreThe 2011 Cybils have been revealed! I am so proud to have been part of the amazing panel who chose Mo Willems, I Broke My Trunk as the Easy Reader winner and Have Fun Anna Hibiscus as the Early Chapter Book winner. There are summaries of each of these books and short posts about why we […]
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