Yesterday, Katherine had a much-anticipated play date. She and her friend spent the entire school day (or so it seemed in the re-telling) planning exactly what they do during their time together. And then, the play date ended much earlier than expected. The friend’s grandfather came to pick her up earlier than planned and disappointment […]
Read moreAs the holiday season descends, I love giving the gift of children’s books to everyone on my list- grown ups most especially. For many adults, it’s been an awfully long time since they sat down and read a picture book. Simply enjoying the beauty of illustration and the joy of story can be enough of […]
Read moreEvery so often I come very late to the party. Jeff Mack has been writing and illustrating brilliant books for a little while now and I have just discovered him. He has written a collection of genius easy readers that really do rival my love of Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books. Forever now, I […]
Read moreLately, I can’t stop focusing on how quickly the girls are growing. Perhaps it’s Christmas approaching and all the reflection that brings. Perhaps it’s how much the girl’s lists have changed this year. Katherine wants toys she’s seen on tv commercials (terrible things I had not really let the girls watch before this […]
Read moreThe plate you see above was Katherine’s during Thanksgiving dinner last year. She was at her most picky and literally ate only bread. And only the middle of that bread. As I thought ahead to our meal this year with hopes of a broader menu for Katherine, I was reminded of a piece I wrote […]
Read moreDo you see that blue book? The one that is standing tall on top of the piles on my desk? The book is Matthew Cordell’s (of Another Brother fame) latest, hello! hello!. This charming book, about a family that takes the time to look up from their myriad of electronic devices, is sitting there for […]
Read moreI don’t usually participate in the blogosphere’s celebration called ‘Wordless Wednesday’ but I really couldn’t pass this one up…
Read moreKatherine woke up this morning happy. She was happy because she remembered that today would be her first day of spelling homework. I thought that maybe the day at school would damper her joy but she ran out of school beaming. And she was not the only one. A friend’s little boy came up to […]
Read moreFrequent blog readers will know that I often get nervous about books with tons of hype. I worry that I am reading them too late and will not like them because I have heard too many great things about them. I know, big problems I have… I have been reading about Liar and Spy for […]
Read moreLast week, my friend Lindsey posted the following quote on her blog. I’ll tell you a secret: poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes, they are sleeping. They are the shadows drifting across our ceilings the moment before we wake up. What we have to do is live in a way that lets us find […]
Read more