Ad-Lib Mondays
Caring. Connecting. Changing.
Until earlier today, I was planning a different blog post. I didn’t get it written over the weekend, but was planning to write it first thing today. Then, this morning, I read the news about Las Vegas, and my plans changed. Last night, I attended an annual event in my city at which seniors are…
Read MoreAround Our Way on Neighbors’ Day by Tameka Fryer Brown — Book Recommendation
Title: Around Our Way on Neighbors’ Day Author: Tameka Fryer Brown Illustrator: Charlotte Riley-Webb Publisher: New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010 Genre: Picture book, fiction Audience Age: 4 to 8 Themes/Topics: Neighbors, diversity, sharing food, friendship Opening Sentences: Blue sky, no clouds, Summer heat, side street, Whirling, whizzing feet. Everyone is out to play…
Read MoreBook Recommendations for Your Summer Reading
Summer is coming! Among other things, that means it’s time to take a blogging break for a while. I’ll pop in from time to time for a quick “What I’m Reading” post, but regular posts will be on hiatus until fall. When I was growing up, one of the things I enjoyed about summer (besides…
Read MoreA Strong Right Arm by Michelle Y. Green — Book Recommendation
I’ve been impatiently waiting until my planned alphabetical posts were complete so that I could share this book with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Title: A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Author: Michelle Y. Green Publisher: New York: Scholastic, 2002. Genre: Middle Grade biography Audience…
Read MoreThe Ziegfeld Club, Inc.
You may have heard of the impresario Flo Ziegfeld (Flo was short for Florenz.) You may have heard of the Ziegfeld Girls from the early days of movies. You may be wondering why I’m posting about them today. It turns out that the Ziegfeld Follies aren’t the only thing that the Ziegfelds were involved in.…
Read MoreJane Yolen
Jane Yolen is one of the wonders of modern writing. She has written and published over 300 books, most — but not all — for children (of all ages). She is a poet and a master of many genres. She is a mentor and teacher to many. One of the keys to the prolific nature…
Read MoreFinding the Value of X
Don’t worry, I’m not going to wax mathematical, and particularly not algebraic. But really, what is the value of X in our language? You may have wondered, when I began this alphabetical journey, what I would do with X . I admit I wondered, as well. It’s a problem that I’m sure most alphabetographers struggle…
Read MoreWater. A Post After Earth Day with Book Recommendations
Water. Its presence is essential to life, and yet we treat it as if it were nothing, an easily-found, easily-restored, rightfully-ours commodity. We do this at our peril. I want to share three picture books today, each by a writing friend and colleague, each with an important message for us about water. In Water…
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