Our country has a rich history of marching on Washington, to defend rights, to protest, to resist. Two picture books I have been reading capture this dynamic perfectly for young children. The Youngest Marcher by Cynthia Levinson portrays the energy and idealism of...
News
Gratitude in Troubled Times: a letter-writing project
I found a way out of my post-election miasma: writing letters. Read my essay about gratitude letters here on Medium.
Parenting Through an R-Rated Presidential Campaign
So many parents are struggling to explain the dynamics of the tumultuous presidential campaign. Parenting Through an R-Rated Presidential Campaign, my op-ed in WBUR's Cognoscenti, offers parents six strategies to help. Kids will feel the blowback of the election long...
Pantsuit March: Joy in the Face of a Bruising Campaign Season
All the stars aligned, and there we were, marching over the Brooklyn Bridge to celebrate National Pantsuit Day and cheer for Hillary Clinton. We were in New York City on a Friday night to see Hamilton. As if that wasn't charmed enough, we found out about a Saturday...
Searching for My Sidekick, and finding him
Searching for My Sidekick: I wrote that essay three years ago, as I remembered my childhood friend Wilfredo on his October 12 birthday. I'd recently learned that he had died, and I had an unsettled feeling, wondering about the circumstances of his death at age 34....
Write to Change the World: OpEd Project in Boston
Who gets to narrate the world? That was one of the questions tackled in the day-long Write to Change the World seminar, led by the OpEd Project in Boston in early October. The mission of the OpEd Project is to "increase the range of voices and quality of ideas we hear...
Protecting our Young LGBTQ Athletes
“Thank God I’m gay.” Those are words LGBT advocate Cyd Zeigler and his husband exchange each day. Part affirmation and part words of gratitude, Zeigler’s words electrified the audience of student-athletes, coaches, advocates, and educators. We had gathered in Hyannis,...
Writing Buzz: Autumn may be the best season for writing!
There is nothing like that clean-page feeling of fall! I have been energetically contributing to blogs, writing articles, and revising my middle grade novel ever since I turned that page to September. A few links: My article "Coming Out to My College Students--Again"...
Rainbow Flags & Children’s Books: Ireland
After a summer off from blog writing and teaching, I have that fresh and exciting September feeling! A few insights from my summer travels in Ireland: The bookstores of Ireland were a feast, both the independent ones as well as the chains. There was a wide variety of...
Talking about summer reading on NPR!
Getting an invitation to talk about children's books and summer? No way I'd turn that down! I had the chance to join host Mindy Todd and Falmouth librarian Jill Erickson at WCAI-FM (Cape and Islands NPR station) recently, and we talked about so. many. books! The topic...