I had lunch this week with my dear friend Donna. I love our time together, always walking away from the restaurant more relaxed and wiser than when I entered. Yesterday, our conversation turned to the story of Donna’s only child learning to read. Her son is now 28 and her description was vivid. She recalled […]

Read more

All year long I read excellent reviews of Chris Raschka’s Ball for Daisy. And then, for some unexplained reason, I didn’t read it. And then all my favorite bloggers wrote over and over again about how much they loved Jack Gantos’ Dead End in Norvelt. And I didn’t read it. Well,  A Ball for Daisy […]

Read more

So I could write about how our first real snow storm of the year. How between the flakes, Caroline and I went on a Brownie sleepover and Rob and I went to our elementary school’s progressive dinner. I could write about reading good books while we watched the flakes fall. Or I could post a […]

Read more

Sometimes I have a really hard time focusing on what to read. The other day, I realized I was in such a period. I looked over at the stack on my desk and could hardly chose what to pick up next. I love to read books on my new Kindle. And for a surprising reason. […]

Read more

Just yesterday I wrote about Katherine’s first experience with choosing her own books from among the vast array of her school library shelves.  Again,this week,  she went for some oldies but goodies. I was thrilled to be able to share Babar with her. I have to admit that the whole shooting thing in the first […]

Read more

Katherine’s kindergarten class goes to the library once a week. Before the winter holiday break, the librarian filled round tables with appropriate books for the children. By doing this, she kept her youngest patrons from going crazily through her shelves and creating library mayhem. After the break though, the children were introduced to browsing sticks and […]

Read more

If given the choice among Fundamentals of Income Taxation, The Babysitters Club and Primary Phonics, the cat chooses Primary Phonics. Wise cat.

Read more

  I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Martin Luther King, Jr. Let’s hope, as the girls stand in front of the monument to Martin Luther King Jr., […]

Read more

There are certain blogs that make me smile every time I read them. Jean at Artful Parent writes such a blog. Her posts make me wish I could be one of her little girls just for a day, exploring and creating playful works of art. When she announced that she would be taking a digital […]

Read more

My dear friend Lucy has started writing a new blog. I was thrilled to be included in one of her first posts. Thinking about Lucy’s questions inspired me to write my thoughts below on getting reluctant readers reading. After you check out Lucy’s post, come back here and then share your thoughts with me. As […]

Read more