Preparing for Thanksgiving this week, I notice heaviness in my heart, yet I want to be thankful for a life rich with good gifts. I turn to Tomie de Paola's golden-toned Look and Be Grateful and find the grace I'm seeking. De Paola's children's books have a lovely simplicity. His images transport the reader to … Continue reading Become a Child Again with Tomie de Paola’s Book of Everyday Thanksgiving
The kingdom of God, Christ said, “is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how” (Mark 4:26-29). The phrase “he knows not how” troubles me; I want results. I long to see my loved ones … Continue reading When Faith Seems Fruitless: A Lesson from Frog and Toad
Snow is late this year, but winter's chill is in the air in my Colorado mountain valley. Time for a fire and a return to Narnia, Middle Earth, or maybe Sigrid Undset's Norway. Winter months are long here, but they are less so with the help of wintry tales. By the time the Fellowship of … Continue reading This Icelandic Children’s Tale Melts the Heart and Speaks Truth to Our Times
COVID-weariness is a thing this Thanksgiving. In my little corner of the world it shows itself on the faces of parents, children and teachers navigating the yo-yo of school closures and re-openings as we monitor the number of active COVID-19 cases in our county, our valley and our state. It surfaces in my father's voice … Continue reading A Thanksgiving Children’s Book for Weary, Grieving Hearts
Some say it started with a hashtag. It took off in the Twitterverse and inspired songs by punk rockers Amen and pop phenomenon Demi Lovato. The punchy one-liner even found its way into a successful ad series for the ever-delectable Reese's peanut butter cup, in which a snarky male voiceover extols Reese's with in-your-face bravado, … Continue reading Not-Sorry’s Not Worth It, but Sorry-Plus Is a Beautiful Move
It seems almost everyone is complaining about division in the culture, but our loudest hate-speech protesters often behave no better than the groups they complain about. And if we're honest with ourselves, most of the rest of us have, at least once in a while, been edgier with opponents than we're proud of. Try as … Continue reading Celebrate Strong Dads with a Song and a Slice of Enemy Pie (and Learn to Love Your Enemies Too)
"The details of this story are true," Newberry-winning author Lois Lowry writes of her beautiful father-daughter story, Crow Call. "but parenst and children groping toward understanding each other--that happens to everyone. And so this story is not really just my story, but everyone's." It is indeed. Lowry's Crow Call is a masterful evocation of the … Continue reading Crow Call: Beautiful Children’s Book for Fathers and Daughters
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates has thrilled children since its publication in 1865. Sadly, the book may have become a "victim of technology," writes award-winning children's author Bruce Coville in a note to readers of his 2007 adaptation of the novel. He explains that Mary Mapes Dodge wrote the book not only to entertain … Continue reading Hans Brinker’s Humble Heroism
