Rumer Godden’s “The Doll’s House” and the Lesson of Beauty Found in Old Things
Rumer Godden’s imaginative stories for children evoke fairy tales. At once sumptuous and innocent, many of her stories, like The Story of […]
“Weird Al” Yankovic’s Children’s Book “When I Grow Up” Beats the Pants Off Average Library Fare
Combing the library stacks in the children’s section will often return drivel. Fuzzy illustrations of anthropomorphized bears who speak only in monosyllables, […]
Gilbreth and Cary’s “Cheaper By the Dozen” Which Has Nothing to Do with the Movie
What is it that makes large families so fascinating? A hundred years after the Gilbreth family welcomed their 12 children to the […]
J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” and the Lost Art of Respite
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live […]
The Super Great World of Super Great Kids’ Stories
Storytelling is best done in person. There’s no substitute for the human voice communicating a tale in the here-and-now. But, alas, in […]
John D. Fitzgerald’s “Papa Married a Mormon”: A Story So Wild It Must Be True
Previously, we expounded on the virtues of John D. Fitzgerald’s The Great Brain. A book not suited to sensitive children or those […]
George MacDonald’s “The Princess and the Goblin” and a Vision of Sheltering Motherhood
Are people of the British Isles exceptionally good at writing about mothers or do the British Isles have exceptionally good mothers to […]
Learning to Read Aloud While Reading to Young Children
Most schools of recent decades noticeably lack preparation in public speaking. Attending an event at which average, college-educated adults are called upon […]
When To Start Reading Long Stories to Young Children
The question of when to begin reading long stories with no or few pictures to children is a surprisingly nuanced one. In […]
The Benefits of Rereading and Creating a Living Family Library
In the quest to become child-like, one might discover that rereading can be a richer and more satisfying exercise than previously considered. […]