Books, places, and books that take you places
My life of wanderlust began within the pages of books. Stories accompanied my maps fascinated me as a child. I spent hours pouring over book maps which made feel that I was traveling with the characters. I even wrote my own stories, always illustrating them with maps. I also sketched real life maps for Halloween […]
I love a challenge so when I read about Vivien Kirkfield’s 50 Precious Words Contest, I was intrigued. Based on a challenge Bennet Cerf gave to Dr. Seuss to write a story using only 50 unique words, (he came up with Green Eggs and Ham) writers are challenged to write a 50-word story. It’s […]
The Rock Maiden – A Chinese Tale of Love and Loyalty By Natasha Yim (author) and Pirkko Vainio (illustrator) Wisdom Tales: 2017 picture book ages 4-9 Today I am excited to share a wonderful book as part of Multicultural Children’s Book Day. I love it when books transport me to another time and place. […]
SCHOMBURG: THE MAN WHO BUILT A LIBRARY by Carol Boston Weatherford (author) and Eric Velasquez (illustrator) Picture book for ages 7 – adult Candlewick Press: 2017 Can you imagine building a library? I can and I’ve found my inspiration. Arturo Alfonso Schomburg was an amazing man unfamiliar to most people. But, everyone should know his […]
Hello to 2018! I’ve been absent from the blogging world for awhile but I have been reading piles of books and traveling. It’s good to be back! I just returned from a field trip of Biblical proportions. We journeyed through Israel and are still processing all that we saw, learned, and experienced. It was a […]
Today I’d like to share a special book for those of us who have chosen international adoption as a way to build our families: Babies Come From Airports by Erin Dealy (author) and Luciana Navarra Powell (illustrator) “Some babies come from the hospital, Some babies come from airports, but all babies come from love.” This […]
Today is officially Kindness Day but don’t you think that people should be kind everyday?? It is never to early to encourage children to be kind and a perfect place to begin is with this retelling of the classic Aesop’s fable: The Lion and the Mouse Written and Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney […]
Here in the Central Valley of California, we are fortunate to have Artes de Americas , a museum whose mission is to make Central California a flourishing place for Latino arts. For the past few weeks, a number of REFORMA de Fresno* members Josie Bustos, Aideed Medina, Armando “Luie”Garcia, Ivan Calimano, Sandra Rios Balderrama […]
September 15th to October 15th has been designated National Hispanic Heritage Month. Here, in Central California, there is much to celebrate. The Rebozo Revival is one of the exciting events being held this week. This five-day celebration was founded by rebozo expert Lourdes Sevilla. She has brought four master weavers from Mexico to exhibit their […]
Little ones love to listen to stories over and over. There are times, I admit, that I have wanted to hide a book rather than read it for the 14th ( or 40th) time in a day. Here are some board book series to mix in with old favorites. All Aboard! California: A Landscape Primer by […]
There’s always reason to celebrate when a new book by U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate and author Margarita Engle is released. We are doubly fortunate this week because two new books have become available! Forest World (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) is her latest middle grade verse novel which follows the journey Cuban-born but U.S. raised Edver […]
I think most people in the continental United States will be taking a field trip on Monday, August 21st. Of course, everyone will be looking up (with protective eye gear) at the solar eclipse. (poster made by Rainbow Symphony) Yes, I’ll be one of the multitude heading to the total eclipse band in Central Oregon […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
