George MacDonald’s “At the Back of the North Wind” and the Paradox of Happiness
But to try to make others comfortable is the only way to get right comfortable ourselves, and that comes partly of not […]
“The Day Boy and The Night Girl” and Why Innocent Children Can Handle Real Life
He did not know what fear was, and that not because he did not know danger; for he had had a severe […]
Innocence
Where dips the rocky highlandOf Sleuth Wood in the lake,There lies a leafy islandWhere flapping herons wakeThe drowsy water rats;There we’ve hid […]
Joyce Lankester Brisley’s “Milly-Molly-Mandy” Stories: Sweetness Itself and Enduring Enchantment
Anyone who has spent time in the fictional world of Millicent Margaret Amanda will recall the details of her life. Memorably nicknamed […]
The Childfree Movement and Other Paths to Misery
Kids are gross. Sometimes they are loud, unruly, sticky, maddening. For all these reasons and more, savvy adults are deciding not to […]
Grace Lin’s perfectly silly “Ling and Ting” series
There are great masterpieces of the written word and artistic expression worthy of veneration. There are also wonderfully fun books that provide […]
Inspired by children: The Betsy-Tacy series and books about innocence
In Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series, readers encounter the embodiment of innocence. The girls—Elizabeth (“Betsy”), Anastacia (“Tacy”), and later Thelma (“Tib”)—are far […]