And what is so rare as a day in June?Then, if ever, come perfect days;Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,And over it softly her warm ear lays;Whether we look, or whether we listen,We hear life murmur, or see it glisten.―From The Vision of Sir Launfal by James Russell Lowell Today was a perfect […]
TellUsClope
Once, hundreds of years ago, there lived a giraffe named Clope who did not like his long neck. He found it most impractical. He wished his head could be closer to the ground. He was, you see, a rather social, most very extroverted giraffe, and most of the animals with whom he was acquainted dwelt […]
The World Needs the Class of 2020
To my graduate. You were three weeks old when I finally summoned the courage to head to the coffee shop. I dreaded trying to make sense of what had happened, but I wanted you to grow into a man of depth, of compassion, of character. In order to love this broken beautiful world, we first […]
Discovering Robin McKinley
As I continue to write middle grade fiction, I also make time to read fiction for the same age group. Over the past two years, I’ve read Katerine Patterson, Gary Paulsen, Andrew Peterson, George MacDonald, Kate DiCamillo, S. D. Smith, William Armstrong, Scott O’Dell, Susan Creech, Robert Beatty, Lois Lowry, and others. I’m now delving […]
Hard-Wired to Follow
Two boys run around the playground equipment skidding on the little wood chips carpeting the ground. They zap, pow, punch, and kick as they zoom about. One is wearing a red cape that flaps in the wind behind him as he flies around with his arms stretched in front of him. The other has on […]