Hello, friend. What have you been reading lately? Chances are, you’ve been reading very little from the children’s section of the library or bookstore. And that’s a shame. C.S. Lewis said, “A children’s book that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s book in the slightest.” Here are 6 reasons why…
Your voice is important. Not just what you choose to say, but your tone and how you say it. It’s important in life and it’s important in writing, too. What’s the point of having a voice if you’re not going to use it? In life, having a Voice comes from knowing yourself and knowing what…
Do pain and art go together? Take a look at the lives of artists, writers, musicians, poets. Artists like Georgia O’Keeffe, Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch. Writers like Mark Twain, JK Rowling, Stephen King. Musicians such as Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Ray Charles. So very many others. Creative types often come from…
No, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But you can judge it by its first lines. You know the saying, “You never get a second chance to make first book impressions.” (sic) First book impressions are quick and visceral. They hit you in the gut. You just “know.” It works for people. It…
Librarians, in general, have a lot on their plates. School librarians have even more. They generally know their “clientele” by name, know their interests, actively suggest books, read stories aloud, teach kids about proper book-handling behavior, anticipate readers’ future interests and book trends. (When my kids were growing up, their school librarian also used to dress up as various…
The weather we’ve been having makes me want a cozy tea party. Who would you invite to a tea party for friends in your favorite novels? In all the books you’ve read, going all the way back to when you were a kid, what five characters would you want to have at your party? Here’s…
When a teacher or parent invites a book into their classroom or home, they’re not just giving the book valuable real estate, they’re giving space to the characters within that book. When I was working in elementary schools, I was often charmed by the classroom libraries the teachers had curated. And they had given lots of space to…
My heart breaks for kids these days. Kids who don’t think they’re smart enough, good-looking enough, tall enough, short enough, happy enough, involved enough, helpful enough, caring enough, busy enough, strong enough, sporty enough, techy enough, brave enough. Enough. It has always been like this for kids. When you were a kid, did you think…
And Just Like That, It’s a New Month. How are you doing with your goals, your hopes, your dreams two months into this new year? All of a sudden, I’ve been hearing more about Confirmation Bias. I wasn’t even sure what sort of phenomenon it was until I kept seeing it everywhere. Haha. That’s kind…
Relationships are built on trust. We shouldn’t be telling lies to our friends, partners, kids, parents. But do you know who it’s really easy to lie to? Ourselves. And we’ve got to stop right now! If you want to accomplish your dreams, whatever they may be—and let’s assume you want to write since this is…
