1000 Hours Outside: How to make the ideal a daily inspiration
One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure […]
Jerry Spinelli’s “Mama Seeton’s Whistle” and a landscape without mothers
In an average suburban neighborhood, young children are rarely seen with their mothers during standard business hours. Progress, we are told, is […]
Beatrix Potter’s “The Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck” and teaching children the value of rational fear
An interesting contrast exists between Beatrix Potter’s charming little story of predation, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck, published in 1908, and Michael […]
Sydney Taylor’s “All-of-a-Kind Family” and the marvelous art of storytelling
Our culture continues to suffer severe confusion when it comes to stories. We are trapped in a hellish, post-modern landscape in which […]
The interminable rerun or the ultimate experience
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always […]
Toward order: Holly Pierlot’s “A Mother’s Rule of Life”
The movement from chaos to order is often not a decisive, once-and-for-all decision. Instead, there is a plodding course from disorder and […]
Shirley Jackson’s feminine intellect was not unique
The writing of American gothic extraordinaire Shirley Jackson has received renewed interest in recent years as critics have come to appreciate her […]
Practically Speaking: What to do when you’re angry
Women’s anger has become an influential commodity in the post-modern world. Measures of women’s happiness are declining decade over decade, and “liberated” […]
Simply charming: Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies
Julie Andrews has one of the most recognizable faces and voices in cinema of the past 70 years. Known for her iconic […]
Marmee: the fictional patron saint of mothers with a temper
Many mothers attest to never having suffered a temper until having children. Something about the biological agitation and emotional intensity of motherhood […]