More than twenty-three years ago, a chocolate Labrador puppy was born.  As the smallest dog in her litter, a powerful name was given to her by her human.  She was called Xena.  For fifteen years, she was a constant companion to a woman who had endured pain and was starting a new normal.  The duo wandered, walked and ran in all kinds of weather.  They shared adventures firmly stored in the human's mind and heart.   After Xena's death, fifteen blog posts beginning on December 2, 2015 and ending on December 21, 2015 were written.  In those posts ..read more

Without fail near Mother's Day every year, a deliberate, planned treasure hunt began.  Unlike many treasure hunts, there was no map with a large "X" marking a spot.  To be sure, there were areas to check, but much depended on the weather and the type of spring we were having.  As a child and then later as a teen, I am not sure which was more fun, watching my father seek and find the elusive morel mushroom or finding them myself. How my dad acquired his skills as a morel mushroom hunter or, for that matter, skills at finding other edible mushrooms is a mystery, but our meals wer ..read more

 Very early this morning, before daylight, as thunder rumbled for hours, I finished Louder Than Hunger (Candlewick Press, March 4, 2024) written by John Schu.  Stretched beside me was my loving and loyal canine companion, Mulan.  I was grateful for her calming presence as my soul struggled with Jake’s (and John’s) story.  I wonder what she thought of my crying off and on for hours. Honored to receive this galley, now filled  with markers of powerful poetic words. Before this novel-in-verse begins, a letter addressed to Dear Readers is written to us by Kate DiC ..read more

To begin, I wish to apologize for the long lapse in blogging here.  After my May 9, 2023 post about the delightful One Small Thing (Beaming Books, May 9, 2023) written by Marsha Diane Arnold with artwork by Laura Watkins, my writing mojo took a long vacation.  Major blogger block has been haunting me.  I have a thematic post partially completed honoring five titles.  My stacks of books, especially picture books, are growing.  I have many titles to share with you before the upcoming school year. Speaking of the upcoming school year, I am thrilled and honored to announce ..read more

At the beginning of this year in an effort to highlight as many wonderful books as possible in posts before the ALA Youth Media Awards, I included seven titles under the word Elder in the second of three posts for fiction picture books.  These books focus on relationships between the generations, mainly between grandparents and their grandchildren. They revolve around a generational tradition, the passing of seasons and those with whom we share them, customs and food in different countries, how finding the perfect gift reveals more about the giver than the recipient, activities ..read more

On January 6, 2023, in an attempt to provide readers with 2022 publications related to our beautiful planet and its protection prior to the ALA Youth Media Awards, I compiled a post of seventeen books, including early readers through middle grade titles.  During the course of 2022 I talked about other climate crisis and earth-friendly books, but these were books I categorize as too-good-too-miss tomes.   I am setting up this post in the same manner as the previous post.  Author, illustrator, and publisher links, when available, are provided.  Social media accounts will ..read more

By definition, they shelter us from an abundance of rain or sunshine.  They are unique by design to fold together when not in use.  Sometimes, though, depending on the quality of the ribs and fabric, they may falter in their purpose. There were many days, windy, wet days in spring and autumn, when on the campus of Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, where umbrellas failed students scurrying from dorm to class, class to class, class to library, and hopefully to the university center.  It was like living in a wind tunnel.  You would be walking with your um ..read more

In a movie about a legendary hero and his band of merry men, when under enemy attack one of the patriotic thieves shouts, To the trees!  The trees were a refuge for them and a more strategic vantage point from which to defend themselves. Around the world for centuries, trees equal life for what they supply humans and an array of plants and animals.  I wonder how often throughout time those same three words were uttered by other humans or in the language of birds taking a sudden turn in flight to roost in treetops or of squirrels racing over grass and scampering up tree trunks? Small ..read more

For many of us entering a library, whether it's for the public, a school or even our personal collections, it supplies us with a sense of homecoming.  In this space, an infinite number of stories are housed.  They enrich and enlarge our imaginations.  Through them we travel into the past, present, and future with greater understanding and compassion.  These stories give us answers to questions while leading us to more discoveries and answers we didn't even know we desired.  Armed with the truths they provide, our knowledge of our planet and its inhabitants, plant and a ..read more

With mothers, the best approach is to expect the unexpected, especially concerning their offspring.  Mothers are a study in contrasts.  They may be calm one minute as nurturers and fierce in the next moment as protectors.  They may choose to ignore you or chase you depending on the threat you pose.  They know when to keep their children close and when to set them free.  They are master pretenders, architects, providers, healers, and transporters.  Authors Heather Lang and Jamie Harper have collaborated to provide readers with the inside scoop on marvelous mothers ..read more