My husband and I have dreamed for years of visiting Cuba. High on our list of things to see are the classic 1950’s automobiles that continue to rule the roads. So, I was thrilled to read All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Mike Curato. The story begins as […]
Books
Pen the Tale, Oogie
Most of us have stories to share but struggle when trying to write them down. Writing isn’t easy. And, if you have dealt with writer’s block, ideas that turn out to not be original, and rejection, then I have a book for you written, illustrated, and published here in Central California. Pen the […]
Twelve ways to make summer last
According to my calendar (and Google), summer began on June 20th and will end on September 22nd. This means, by my calculations, that today should be considered midsummer. When I was a child, school always began after Labor Day. Around here, many schools will be starting this week with temperatures in the 100’s! It just […]
Celebrate National Sisters Day with Books!
When I was nearly ten years old, my mother was pregnant with her fifth child. She went into labor when my father was out of town so his secretary whisked her to the hospital. My older brother, Bob, was left in charge. His way of caring for us was to lock us in our […]
Little Free Library – a great place to meet the neighbors
Our Little Free Library in Cayucos is finally up and open for business! For any of you unfamiliar with the Little Free Libraries, they are shelters for books where people can take a book and leave a book for others to read. This remarkable concept was begun in Wisconsin by Todd Bol who set up […]
Who, What, and Where in the World of Libraries
Welcome to today’s A to Z Blog Challenge post featuring the letter W. I’d like to share a who, a what, and some wheres in the library world. WHO The World’s Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne (Gotham Books:2013) This book was given to me as a birthday present by one of my dearest friends who […]
V is for Vigilante
Librarians are not shy and meek characters. They are on the forefront of protecting our rights. They fight against censorship and work to make sure that everybody has access to the books and materials they need. Librarians face challenges here but they are nothing like those faced in some other parts of the world. One […]
U is for Unique, Unusual, and Unconventional
A Field Trip Life blog is all about books and travel so come along and check out these Unique and Unusual libraries on this U edition of the A to Z Blog Challenge. The Kansas City Public Library, Central Branch, in Kansas City, Missouri features a “Community Bookshelf” that runs along the length of […]
Thomas times three #atozblogchallenge
We are heading into the final week of the A to Z Blog Challenge where I’ve returned to my librarian roots and have been sharing Library Love. Today is dedicated to the Letter T and I’d like to share two books and the little guy Tomás and the Library Lady by Pat Mora (author) and […]
OVERDUE! #atozblogchallenge
Welcome to Day of the A to Z Blog Challenge. Today’s letter is O for Overdue. Most of us have returned a book late. I’ll admit that I have kept a book I’m using for research for an additional day or two, returned it, and then paid the fine. It is never much and I hope […]
N is for Nicaragua and the library we built #atozblogchallenge
Welcome to today’s A to Z Blog Challenge Post. This year I am writing about Library Love and today I’d like to share a library near and dear to my heart. When you step away from your normal routine, amazing things can happen. Last year a friend invited me to go on a woman’s retreat […]
L is for Library Love #atozchallenge
L is for Library Love We are celebrating National Library Week and I am excited to announce the grand opening of my very own Little Free Library! Thanks to the generosity of my fellow children’s authors, I was able to get a library. It is being installed in front of Casa Miramar, our beach […]
K is for Knowing #atozchallenge
Did you know that this is National Library Week? And, since today’s A to Z Blog Challenge letter is K and libraries are great depositories of knowledge, I’d like to share 10 facts about libraries and librarians you should know. 1. You can check out seeds from the seed collection at the Pima […]
J is for Juvenile #atozchallenge
J is for Juvenile Juvenile seems like an outdated term but libraries still catalog books for children as Juvenile fiction or Juvenile nonfiction. Did you know that children were not always welcomed in libraries? Early libraries were not free and open to the public. Usually they consisted of books collected by wealthy individuals who […]
I is for Iraq #atozchallenge
I is for Iraq One of the saddest things imaginable to bibliophiles, is the destruction of a library. Librarians fearlessly defend the right of their patrons to have access to information and they care for the collections entrusted to them so that they will be available for future generations. Alia Muhammad Baker was the chief […]