Ad-Lib Mondays
The Restoration of Otto Laird by Nigel Packer — Book Recommendation
Title: The Restoration of Otto Laird Author: Nigel Packer Publisher: London: Sphere, 2014. Genre: Adult fiction Theme: self-renewal, aging Opening Sentences: It was not uncommon, these days, for Anika Laird to return from one of her morning trips to town to find her husband standing naked in the kitchen window. The first time it happened…
Read MoreWHO can Read Aloud to Older Adults and Isolated People — the series finale
In the almost ten years (!) since I wrote this series of blog posts under the umbrella heading of “reading aloud to the elderly,” there have been many changes in the world. Terminology has changed, so that I’ve found it important to change the word “elderly” to older people, despite the fact that it has…
Read MoreSpring = Growth, Possibilities, Energy, Hope
On the prairies where I live, April is a time when we’re usually emerging from a cold, snowy, difficult winter. This winter was an anomaly, but there’s still the feeling of emerging from a tunnel into the open air. The sunshine is warm again, the birds are singing, and the crocuses (okay, croci) are blooming…
Read MoreWHEN to Read Aloud to Older Adults and Isolated People — Part Five in the Series
In the almost ten years (!) since I wrote this series of blog posts under the umbrella heading of “reading aloud to the elderly,” there have been many changes in the world. Terminology has changed, so that I’ve found it important to change the word “elderly” to older people, despite the fact that it has…
Read MoreI Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin — Book Recommendation
Title: I Lived on Butterfly Hill Author: Marjorie Agosín Publisher: New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014. Genre: Historical fiction Audience Age: 11 to 15 years Themes, topics: Home, exile, Chile, refugees Opening Sentences: The blue cloud finally opens—just when the bell rings to let the Juana Ross School out for the weekend. I’d…
Read MoreWHERE to Read Aloud to Older Adults and Isolated People — Part Four in the Series
In the almost ten years (!) since I wrote this series of blog posts under the umbrella heading of “reading aloud to the elderly,” there have been many changes in the world. Terminology has changed, so that I’ve found it important to change the word “elderly” to older people, despite the fact that it has…
Read MoreHeading into the New Year — and a book: Inventing the Rest of Our Lives by Suzanne Braun Levine
Near the end of 2016, I will turn 60. Although many people dread such a number, I am (oddly, perhaps) looking forward to it. Although my 50s brought great grief, they also brought great joy, learning, expansion of horizons, experiences beyond my hopes and dreams, and tremendous opportunities. I look forward to my 60s, wondering,…
Read MoreIt’s TIME! Time to Celebrate THE KID WHO REVIEWS BOOKS!
Once a year, we get a chance to celebrate all that Erik, the fantastic KID WHO REVIEWS BOOKS, does in the kidlit community and for the greater community of readers everywhere. I first got to know Erik (as did many of us) when he was MUCH younger — just NINE years old — participating in…
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