My favourite book when I was a kid was Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary. It was also The Sky Is Falling by Kit Pearson and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and all the Babysitter's Club books, and then when I was a teenager all the Maeve Binchy books because I was going to … [Read more...]
A Present You Can Open Again and Again
A little while ago I wrote about my love of reading. I love books - everything about them. I love the smell of them, the look of them, the feel of a book (or my Kobo) in my hand. I love to lose myself in imaginary worlds, to have my worldview questioned, my mind opened like a flower. When I was … [Read more...]
Reviewing Reviews
I'm feeling all meta, reviewing a book of reviews of kidslit on my kidslit column today. and honestly, I'm delighted that this book is out, because my knowledge of graphic books is admittedly weak, and this is a great help. So. Got a kid who loves comics and graphics? There is great stuff … [Read more...]
Scholastic Decoder: November
Your kids are in school, or maybe in daycare, and they have started to bring home those book club flyers. You know, the ones you got when you were in school, packed with good deals on books great and not-so-great alike. But now what?I have a lot of parents tell me that they are stymied by these. If … [Read more...]
We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers
"I have this little sister Lola. She is small and very funny."Thus begins We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers, a small and very funny book about recycling from award-winning children's author/illustrator Lauren Child. After Charlie convinces Lola to recycle her old toys instead of throwing them … [Read more...]
What’s in a Name?
I read an article today about how people with the most -or least - common names around are forming alliances to "make a better name for their names". You can find an entire website devoted to the name Wendy (with members bonding over nicknames and sharing their favourite movie characters), and … [Read more...]
His Current Obsession
Of course I love my children. And, like most moms, I think they are totally the bomb. But part of this is that there are things I truly admire about them. Things that are quirky and unique and represent something that sets them apart. These things, for the most part, are qualities that I didn't … [Read more...]
“A Book is a Present You Can Open Again and Again”
My Aunt Barb once gave me a gift of a book and a package of adhesive book plates inscribed with this phrase:A book is a present you can open again and again.I cherished both the book (the complete and uncut hardcover version of Stephen King's The Stand: an extraordinary read) and the book plates. … [Read more...]