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 […]
Folk Music to Get You Started: Roundabout’s Singsong Pennywhistle and the Okee Dokee Brothers
Singing in the home is a civilized activity to which we should all aspire. Starved of real music and prevented from ever […]
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 […]
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 […]
Scheduling Childhood Away: In Defense of Summer, an Image of Eternity
In a country that graduates illiterate students from high school, some people question the value of summer vacation. It was made for […]
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. […]
The Joys of the Impractical and the Rube Goldberg Machine
The Rube Goldberg Machine delights. Named after the Reuben Lucius “Rube” Goldberg, a twentieth-century cartoonist, the machines are imaginative chain reaction devices […]
Extravagance: an Essential Ingredient for Life
Betty Smith includes many memorable details of the life Francie Nolan growing up in poverty and instability in “A Tree Grows in […]
Travelogue: The Great Salt Lake
Some places leave an indellible impression and come often to mind after even but a brief experience. Here is one such destination. […]