At the last library book sale I bought a children’s book by Alison Jay, my favorite illustrator, called Picture This. It’s a simple book with a picture and a single word on each page, for very young children. I love this book because of the beautiful artwork, and as I was reading it to my … Read more
Reading Series Part I: Reading TO Children Reading Series Part II: Reading WITH Children Reading BY Children This stage of reading development comes after your child is a successful and frequent reader. Set a time once a day or week that you sit down as a family and have a family reading time or let … Read more
I am not an animal lover by any means, but I do like children’s books about animals, especially books about animal sounds or how animals live and behave. Hello, Hello!, written by Miriam Schlein and illustrated by Daniel Kirk, is a great book that teaches how different animals greet each other. Learn how lions, polar … Read more
Reading Series Part I: Reading TO Children Reading Series Part III: Reading BY Children Reading WITH Children As a child is learning to read, reading to him is still vital but reading with him is also essential. Take turns and listen to each other read. A benefit of reading together is that you’re able to … Read more
Reading Series Part II: Reading WITH Children Reading Series Part III: Reading BY Children Last summer our family went to a lecture by Dr. Brad Wilcox at our library to learn about reading. He taught us some really interesting things about why reading to kids is important and also how to get kids to enjoy … Read more
The other night I was at my monthly dinner group and a few friends were talking about goodreads.com. Apparently there is a website where you can open an account and invite friends and share book recommendations. Have you ever heard of a more brilliant idea?!? As soon as I got home I signed up and … Read more
Radio West is a radio talk show that I sometimes listen to while I’m out and about, and on Wednesday (1/30) they had writer Caleb Crain on to talk about an article he wrote for the New Yorker Magazine on literacy and books. I only caught the last 15 minutes or so of the interview … Read more
This is a great lift-the-flap book by Durga Bernhard called In the Fiddle Is a Song that talks about how things often have hidden potential, and that almost everything has the opportunity to become something different and better. This book teaches that everything great started out as something small and normal, a great lesson for … Read more
While I am concerned about the environment, I would not call myself an environmentalist. I believe that the resources on the earth are meant for our use, but that we must be conservative and wise in our consumption. As in all things, moderation is the key. I do consider myself to be a resourceful and … Read more
George Eliot wrote, “Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with … Read more