Once upon a time, there was a dog named “Young Man”. I do not know why his name was ‘Young Man’, so please do not ask. Some things simply cannot be explained. Young Man belonged to a young… er, to a boy named Bill. Bill belonged to his parents. You do not need to know…
When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do? A few years ago, my sister gifted me an old, retold story: The Three Questions by John J. Muth. Based on a tale by Leo Tolstoy, rewritten especially for little ones and featuring a…
This is a very special book. As a tangible thing, it is beautiful. Slip off the dustjacket: the textured, river-stained binding is instantly worth every penny. Though candidly told, in a large, frank font, with simple words and objects of childhood, it is articulated and illustrated with awing mastery by poet Jordan Scott, and artist…
One of the best ways to practice any discipline is to imitate the work of a master. (This is true when it comes to discipleship, too.) So here is a recent (simplified) effort in imitation of a long-time favorite fairy tale illustration: Edmund Dulac’s ‘Gerda and the Reindeer’, from his illustrations of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. I’ve…
Editor’s Note: If you like this fairy re-telling, you can also pre-order Isabel’s picture book, West of Moonlight, East of Dawn.
“I believe that the men of this age (and among them you Father, and myself) think too much about the state of nations and the situation of the world. Does not the author of The Imitation warn us against involving ourselves too much with such things? We are not kings, we are not senators. Let us beware…
I have a lot of siblings; and when I was little, we always had more than one triple decker set of bunks. My stuffed animals and I slept at the top, where we were thrust — not quite to the stars — but right up to the spackle on the ceiling. By day, I would…
I made this bookmark for myself for a favorite ‘Moby Dick’ quote, and I wondered if it’s the sort of thing you all at Story Warren might be interested in, as it can be printed on card stock and cut out. I’m attaching a pdf for the front, and one for the back, and a…
“The morning it happened — the end of my lovely world — I did not water the lilac bush outside my father’s study.” The lilt of Esther Hautzig’s memory of exile in Siberia–seared by privation, filth, and loss–keeps an almost magical, storybook intonation. Her cadences are soothing, even when her recollections are barbed. The World…
Walking With Aslan If I could go, my small hand hidden in your tangled flame, feeling strength flow through a massive frame, seeing bright tremor shaken from Light’s face ’til shapes around you glow — then would it matter, any place I went with you? What things the sparks of glory flew from you to…
Read first: Sunny and Eve – part one Sunny and Eve – part two My dear Sunny, Will’s letter began. I haven’t written in a while. This occupation makes me feel unfit to write to you, though I think of you constantly. I am writing now because I have bad news. I dread to write…
Read first: Sunny and Eve – part one “S’that yer daughter, Jakob?” someone asked. Eve stood a little tremulously in her solidly soled shoes on a street spread with awnings and carpets, jumbled with multi-colored, many textured, differingly dense and angled objects. Around these, the street was confused with motion and cries. Her father had…
