Blessed are the Peacemakers Now more than ever it seems imperative that we engage and embody and choose peace. From events that hit close to home like the Newtown tragedy and the Boston Marathon bombings, to our sisters and brothers all over the world …
Tag Archives: Books
history lesson – salvation army farm colonies
Around the turn of the century, the Salvation Army founded three intentional communities in Colorado, Ohio, and California in an effort to relieve urban poverty that followed in the wake of rapid industrialization. Conceived by founder William Booth, the project was organized by his son-in-law Frederick Booth-Tucker, commander of the Salvation Army in the United […]
Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains
New Book Portrays History’s Bad Girls with a Modern Twist Delilah. Cleopatra. Anne Bonney. Catherine the Great. Mata Hari. Bonnie Parker. Just a few of history’s bad girls. Or are they? Might they just be misunderstood girls? Smart, strong, outspoken girls? Or girls who are victims of bad circumstance? In their new book, Bad Girls: […]
George Washington Carver: A Life in Poems
In honor of Black History Month I want to share an extraordinary book about an extraordinary human being: Carver, a life in poems (Front Street, 2001) is an intimate portrait of the botanist, inventor, scientist, artist, musician, and teacher, known as…
3 Folktales for National Folktale Month
Three Favorite Folktales It’s National Folktale Month! And I’m digging into the vaults to share three of my favorites, all starring leading ladies. For me, folktales are food for the soul. And when packaged into a picture book, also provide a feast for the eyes. They are an important part of your child’s literary diet, […]
4 Books that Explore the History of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday that ties us back nearly 400 years to a time when the Wampanoag Indians were vital in helping the Pilgrims survive their new world. This year along with your harvest feast, go ahead and have a slice of history too! He…
10 New Picture Books for Halloween
10 New Picture Books for Halloween Halloween is just days away. In our home there is a flurry of costume making and pumpkin carving and spider webbing as we countdown to the spookiest day of the year. And each evening, as the jack-o-lanterns glow in th…
Charlotte’s Web: A Hymn to Life for 60 Years!
“A Hymn to the Barn” Charlotte’s Web Turns 60! The animals of Zuckerman’s barn have something to celebrate. On October 15, the book which launched them into the world, E.B. White’s pastoral masterpiece Charlotte’s Web, turns sixty years old…
Picture Books for Spring Time
A Trio of New Picture Books Just In Time For Spring Every year I am surprised when the fields and forests finally turn green. Just when I think it will be brown and barren forever, the snow turns to rain, the ground thaws, and those first brave shoots …
200 Years Ago: The Boyhood of Charles Dickens
A Boy Called Dickens Imagining the Boyhood of A Legendary Author This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens. Though Dickens never published an account of his life, and didn’t speak of his childhood until he was in his 30’…