Several children are standing together near my desk, watching our library pet, Libby the cockatiel, who is cocking his head and chirruping at them. They’re discussing things they are old enough to do on their own. First they talk about who gets to check out books on their own, but as they each have their…
For this Brave Wednesday, I want to share with you the beginning of what I imagine could become a longish short story, or a perhaps a novella. I first conceived of the idea in 2012, and wrote these words after having it occasionally pop back into my mind for about a year. After writing it down…
Two years ago this week, I wrote out a version of a traditional tale I’d been working on for a long while. This is my first time sharing it in its written form, though I have told it orally before, using different bits and pieces each time. Brave Wednesdays are pushing me to look back…
Sometimes when speaking about research skills and the importance of information literacy, things can seem a bit…ethereal. As if they were sort of ideas floating around, but no actions. That is decidedly not true. Please allow me to demonstrate with a research project of my own: Meringue. Once upon a time, I wanted to make…
A child, perhaps 4 or 5, came up to the desk to ask me a question. Here is the conversation that ensued. Child: Do you have any toys? Me: I have these blocks you may play with, if you’d like. Child: No…do you have toys you’re giving? Me: Not right now. We do sometimes have…
I don’t, generally speaking, consider myself a poet. But then, isn’t everyone, sometimes? Most don’t share their poetry, and that is reasonable and fine. But my goal, the goal of Brave Wednesdays, is to share things that I wouldn’t have been brave enough to share without this weekly nudge. So here is a little piece…
Welcome to the 3rd week of Brave Wednesdays, and happy first day of Black History Month!
My second brave Wednesday! I’ve spent a lot of time with a sketchbook close at hand. And all of that time, my hands have been there too, surprisingly enough. Generally the right one is not holding a pencil, as I favor my left for sketching. Here are a few sketches of that hand that I’ve…
My resolution this year, for 2017, is to be brave and share myself. In this space,I will be sharing with you my writings and works of art, both large and small, both years old and brand new. None of these works have ever seen the light of day until you see them here. I’ll be…
The Last Tree, written by Ingrid Chabbert and illustrated by Guridi, is a short picture book, elegant and concise, but don’t be fooled by its simplicity. This tale of a boy and his friend working hard to save a tree cuts to the quick. The stunning illustrations display the world the boy lives in, with “roads…