Our family has long enjoyed Randall Goodgame’s Slugs & Bugs albums, and even though my older kids have outgrown asking for them, you might still overhear my 14-year old singing “Tractor Tractor” on occasion. What makes those albums so appealing is Goodgame’s ability to draw kids in with his just-right balance of silliness and sincerity, […]
A Light Through the Cave
“Sometimes a story’s the only way back from the darkness” — The Warden and the Wolf King Last summer, on our Epic Family Road Trip, we visited Carlsbad Caverns. We arrived in the evening in time to see the bats swirling out into the twilight. The next morning, we said goodbye to the sun and […]
Adult Amnesia
I’ve self-diagnosed myself with adult amnesia. Maybe I made that term up, but I think it’s a real problem. I have trouble remembering what it’s like to be a kid. Do you? Actually, I do remember much of what it’s like. The problem is I have trouble remembering to remember. When I was a kid, […]
John Ronald’s Dragons—A First Introduction to Tolkien
My son’s favorite books are the Lord of the Rings series, so buying John Ronald’s Dragons: The Story of J. R. R. Tolkien by Caroline McAlister for his birthday was an obvious choice. Even if he was turning ten. A well-written, beautifully illustrated picture book has a magical quality of appealing to all ages. John […]
Glenn McCarty gives us Horace and Oscar
In any friendship, one person will challenge the other. Glenn McCarty’s new book, Horace and Oscar Visit the Lake, features just such a friendship. Horace, the stuffed rabbit, longs to discover where colors come from and to see the world outside the nursery and past the yard. Oscar the toy giraffe, on the other hand, […]