Elizabeth
Simple Pleasures of Summer with Summertime Books Summer begins officially this year on June 20th, and already we are seeing and feeling the pleasures summer brings. School is out, the days are long, and we want to be outdoors to enjoy the sunshine and warmth. Summertime seemed simpler back in the olden days when I …
Gemini: May 21 – June 21 For those of you who have been blessed with Gemini children, hold on to your hat! You’re in for a ride with these curious, active, busy bees, who are always thinking and talking about whatever is on their mind. Mercury is their ruling planet, so they like engaging with …
Taurus: April 20 – May 20 It’s time for more fun with the astrological star signs! Four out of five family members were born under the Taurus sun sign, so I’ve had plenty of time to observe these sweet, practical, loving, down-to-earth characters. Venus is their planet, so they like nice things that appeal to …
What is a Fairy-Tale? What is a fairy-tale? Why are they so entrenched in our culture, and in cultures around the world? And why might some parents hesitate to read them to their children? I’ve been delving deep into fairy-tales lately, and the deeper I go, the more complicated it gets. According to Merriam-Webster, a …
National Poetry Month! My babies heard a lot of their first poetry when bathing or eating or having diapers changed, and at the time I didn’t think of it as poetry. I recited nursery rhymes, sang “Twinkle, twinkle little star,” and rocked babies in the night while chanting bits of poems I once had memorized …
A leprechaun used to visit us each year when my children were young. When we woke up on Saint Patrick’s Day, there were little green footprints across the kitchen counters, over chairs and windowsills – a trail leading to pots of gold chocolate coins around the house, sometimes with hints of rainbow colors and glitter. …
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes Book Review International Women’s Day comes on March the 8th, Easter is only a month away, and spring is around the corner. So, I have for you an old Easter tale published in 1939 that I hadn’t seen since childhood. The Country Bunny and the Little Gold …
I’ve been thinking a lot about letter writing this past year, a year in which we are all more or less distanced from one another. I was going through a list of the British Kate Greenaway Medal books recently and unearthed a couple of winners by Allan and Janet Ahlberg that I remember fondly from …
I love a surprise ending, and most children do too, even if they’ve heard the story ten or twenty times already. There is something about an unexpected twist that engages us and commands our attention, and once we’re in on the surprise, we enjoy the tension that leads to the unveiling all the more. Back …
National Hat Day! It is celebrated on January 15th in the United States, so I want to share with you ten of the best children’s books about hats. Why hats, you ask? Hats keep us warm. They keep us cool and protect us from the sun. They are great accessories and play a central role …