Last Christmas
…even now, when we are in the midst of the season of anticipating the changes to come, and already starting to live in these seasons of change, that God is promising that the new thing he is doing is already beginning.
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Me and McCloskey
Don’t judge me for this, but I do not remember the circumstances under which I first encountered Robert McCloskey’s Homer Price books. What a way to open a piece about the impact he’s made on my life and writing, right? Don’t get me wrong, the picture books — especially Make Way For Ducklings, Blueberries for…
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The Winter King: A Review
For those of us in the North, winter is a season of waiting. We dance through December and January, buoyed by the holiday spirit, but by March, the grays and whites of the world start gnawing at us, and we can feel the keen hunger for spring. We are meant to feel this way, I…
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Taking it Slow
One of the questions I’m asked the most about my books has to do, naturally, with inspiration. “You must have loved stories about the Old West and devoured books like Tom Sawyer and by authors like Louis L’Amour,” the inquiry goes. And the truth is, well, not really. Don’t get me wrong. I loved the…
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Calling Out Your Name: Rich Mullins, the Rocky Mountains, and Tumbleweed
NOTE: Glenn’s newest book, The Golden Road Of Tumbleweed Thompson, is crowdfunding publication, and you can pre-order your copy until Thu, November 10 202 at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/glennmccarty/the-golden-road-of-tumbleweed-thompson During my senior year of high school — in the interest of full disclosure, that would be winter, 1996 — I came into possession of a cassette tape of…
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Here There Be Dragons
NOTE: This meditation by our friend Glenn seems even more needed now than when we first ran it in 2016. Enjoy! At the bottom of the map in the front of the splendid new edition of Tolkien’s The Hobbit, with illustrations by Jemima Catlin, the area devoted to Mirkwood Forest is labeled with the simple…
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We Wait in the Darkness: Some Thoughts for Advent
The first week of December holds an infamous anniversary for me. This time a few years ago, I found myself flat on my back for nearly a full week after I was hit full-force by a most memorable stomach virus. At the time, pre-pandemic, it seemed like about the worst thing anyone could endure; certainly,…
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Review: Slugs & Bugs Sing the Bible, Volume 4
I’ve got a memory tucked into my pocket from nearly a decade ago: it’s a fall afternoon, and I’m pulling the family car into the local apple farm for an afternoon of picking, two young boys in their car seats in the backseat, and a song about “bears, bears” who’ve “got no cares” jangling out…
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Driving East
EDITOR’S NOTE: Here’s a McCarty ClassicTM from 2018 that we might all need to read again. I’ve been fortunate the past ten years or so since I started teaching in Bloomfield, New York, my morning commute takes me essentially due east. So, for the first few months of the year and the last few months…
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The Other Side
As I recall her in my mind’s eye, Mrs. Thompson (first name lost to time) was a pleasantly plump, nurturing fifth grade teacher, clad in the sort of festive, seasonally-appropriate sweaters favored by seasoned elementary school veterans. During my first year at that small Christian school in Winter Park, Florida, she led my class through…
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Modern Kid: A Review
In the fall of 2013, I had the privilege of attending a workshop at Hutchmoot — the annual conference of The Rabbit Room — which featured Randall Goodgame and S.D. Smith. At the time, I was a green young dad, my own boys just past their fourth and second birthdays, respectively. And I was on the hunt…
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Let There Be Owls Everywhere: A Review
When is a collection of poetry more than words and rhymes? When it’s a book from illustrator and poet Ken Priebe, it’s likely there are also going to be unforgettable characters, puns and wit galore, and a lot of great memories being made by young people and families as they turn the pages together. Priebe’s…
