Did you ever make a paper chain? How do you start a chain? Construction paper in multi-colors cut in strips and linked together, one by one by one. One little strip of paper, glued into a circle—a link—looks like nothing. But it is the biggest and most important link of the chain. Without it, well,…
I wonder if you or your children grew up watching Full House. My kids did. If it came on three times a day—and sometimes it did—they’d watch three times a day. Just to recap, Full House was a show about a widower and his three kids, living in a house in San Francisco with the…
There is an expert who can explain to you how to write a children’s book. This morning, I interviewed the librarian at a local elementary school. Kellie Lowe from Rio Del Mar Elementary was so gracious, inviting me into her library. I haven’t been inside a library since before the pandemic. Kellie had a gleam…
I mentioned Robert Louis Stevenson in my post Imagination & Creation. He is best known for books like Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But also for A Child’s Garden of Verses. First published in 1885, it contains 64 poems. Stevenson was a sickly child in Scotland and dedicated the book to his…
I remember just how I felt when I was a kid and had an assignment to begin a project. Do you remember that feeling? Excited to create something but scared to death that it won’t come out as planned and won’t be any good. This blog is that project: A combination of imagination and creation….
When my kids were little, we lived in a house with a sturdy oak tree out front. Of course, we hung a wooden swing on the oak tree with super thick rope. Before the kids learned to hold on to the ropes without letting go, I would sit them on my lap, hold them tight…
I just read that “Baby Shark” has become the most watched video on YouTube with something like 10 billion views! That’s crazy. (I just rewatched it. 10 billion and one.) It’s a catchy tune, for sure. And now I will be humming it all day long. I’ll try not to sing it out loud…or do…
Full disclosure, this lemonade cookies recipe isn’t related to a book. It is however, related to the time-honored children’s tradition of a lemonade stand. Another disclosure, everyone LOVES these cookies—except me! I made them for the first time to give them to a neighbor. Next time I saw her, she absolutely raved about them. I…
My belief is that all children are creative. I believe all children should learn how to use their voice. I believe the lives of all children can be uplifted with books. I believe children need to know how to take responsibility for their actions, good or bad. My belief is that a childhood without a…
