New and Fabulous Painting for Peace in Ferguson by Carol Swartout Klein is a great tool for parents wanting to discuss with their children the unrest in Ferguson Missouri and other cities around the country. The book does not go into the details of the rioting itself. Instead it focuses on the coming together of […]
This has been a spirit-crushing week. Foremost in my mind, is the bloodbath in Paris. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the dead and wounded, and to all Parisians. My heart has also been heavy as I’ve followed the racial conflict at the University of Missouri and my alma mater, Yale. […]
Language is the key to understanding one another, right? Put another way by the writer Margaret Atwood, “War is what happens when language fails.” Hand in Hand Center for Jewish-Arab Education Called the “Hand in Hand Center for Jewish-Arab Education,” the Israel-based organization is a network of five schools (a sixth school was burned to […]
New and Fabulous Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales is breathtakingly beautiful. Each illustration is saturated with soft but luminous color. The illustrations are the heart of the book. There are only a couple of words on each page, and these words are printed in both English and Spanish. For children who have had no prior […]
Some years ago, when my three children were in various stages of elementary school, my sister and I decided to pack our up our broods for a fun-in-the-sun vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. But before we could head to the white sand beaches, we had to pass through security. Now, the inspection was really […]
Today is one of those rare Chicago November days with temps in the 70s. What a gift! Which has got me thinking about July. Specifically one lazy afternoon when I was sitting out in the strong Montana sun amidst vacationing golfers and tennis players and swimmers…oh! and beer drinkers (incidentally I noticed several orders for […]
New and Fabulous The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Recommended for Grades 6-12. I LOVE this book! The story revolves around basketball. But underneath it all, it’s really about family. Twin boys are stars of their middle school basketball team, mentored by their father, a former professional basketball player. When one of the boys falls for […]
My family is celebrating the birth of our newest member. I love her name: Olivia Bliss. Newborns are the ultimate embodiment of our hopes for the future. They arrive in this world with no track record. Which means their stories are not yet written. For us, their caretakers, it is out best chance at a […]
On a spring day in 1999, students filed into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado for their early morning classes. For most of them, it started off as just another ordinary Tuesday with the usual classes, tests, and kibitzing with friends. But as the first shift of teenagers prepared for lunch, two fellow students walked […]
New and Fabulous Mummy Cat by Marcus Ewert, illustrated by Lisa Brown tells of a cat’s love for his owner who used to be a child-queen in ancient Egypt but now is a mummy buried in a pyramid. The cat, too, has been mummified for 100 years but now comes back to life as the […]