Jean Merrill’s “The Pushcart War”: Perfectly Frivolous, Lots of Fun
In a moment of desperation at the library (a subject for another day), I grabbed Jean Merrill’s “The Pushcart War” off the […]
Pollyanna’s Glad Game: “Just find something about everything to be glad about—no matter what ’twas”
I like Pollyanna. One child listening to the story by Eleanor H. Porter objected to the girl Pollyanna’s overly dramatic episodes, but, […]
Diligence and Consistency: The Fertile Ground for Virtue
One of the great joys of belonging to multiple book clubs is revisiting books with a different group of people. After thoroughly […]
Buyer Beware: The Great and Terrible Advice of Orion Taraban
Recently, I, like millions of other people on the internet, discovered the online persona of Orion Taraban, whose viral star has been […]
5 Perfect Picture Books for a Summer Afternoon
You’ve attained a summer lifestyle when there is a perpetual rotation of drying bathing suits. The drying rack is no longer stowed […]
The Mother Who Had Six Kids, No Car, and a Big Bike
I once read a story about a mother in the Pacific Northwest who reconfigured her entire life so that she could bike […]
Kris Bordessa’s “Attainable Sustainable Pantry”: Practical Advice on What to Make from Scratch
I’ve long been intrigued by what is worth making from scratch. Some items when sourced and prepared yourself end up being much […]
Tim Gautreaux’s “Welding with Children” and Reading about the South this Summer
The Nordic countries have their hygge, a cozy aesthetic embracing and romanticizing long and harsh winters. In the South, we have a […]
Edward Eager’s “Half Magic” and the Full Magic of Summering Well
“Still, even without the country or a lake, the summer was a fine thing, particularly when you were at the beginning of […]
The Hillbilly Thomists: Music for the Road of Life
As usual, it appears, I am late to discover this one. In this case, rediscover. A friend reminded me of a marvelous […]