I’ve always loved Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God: the skies proclaim the work of his hand.” The idea that God speaks to us through his creation is evident the more time you spend in nature. And children, naturally curious about the world they are just discovering, are often more sensitive to…
Your friendly neighborhood children’s librarian here, stopping by with a recommendation that caught my eye a few weeks ago. I love finding new writers and artists to add to my mental folder of “folks whose work I love and will keep an eye out for,” so I was very pleased to discover illustrator Benji Davies…
This month, since many of you are sticking closer to home in the wintry weather, I thought I’d give you some titles that will help you enjoy home! These books explore the joy of home comforts. Home is Where the Birds Sing, Cynthia Rylant. “Home is where there are stories to tell and stories to…
JAMES: Welcome back to Story Warren, Michael J. Tinker! For those who are just now discovering your work, can you summarize how you’ve engaged with kids and their families over the last ten years? MICHAEL: Where do I start?! I’ve released six children’s albums and filmed a six episode ‘TV’ series. I have a family…
Cities, generally characterized by massive buildings and busy streets, are often conceived of as the antithesis of nature. But when I first began reading about architects and their work, I was struck by how frequently the theme of harmony with nature arose. Many if not all of the titles below describe how the featured architects…
A squiggle is a quick and easy art prompt. A wiggle is an equally quick and easy writing prompt. When James, from Story Warren, made plans to publish my articles about squiggles and wiggles, he quipped that a trilogy would be fun and wondered if I had any idea what a giggle might be. A…
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…
Lepunia will catch you up, carry you away, and set you down—right back in Kansas. But conveyed from a rabbit’s-eye view, it might as well be Oz. It was with some surprise that I realized, on reflection, that no magic takes place in these pages. None but that conjured by Ford’s lyrical descriptions. One part…
All the fun we had with Squiggles (read all about it here) led to the creation of something else–the cousin of the Squiggle, affectionately known as the Wiggle. I picked up the basic idea at a writer’s circle but came up with the name Wiggle myself. You see, it is like a Squiggle–kind of–but involves…
If you’re like me, you’re probably disappointed with kids films these days. They’re generally cliche, cheesy, and not very well thought out, which I don’t think is fair. Kids deserve good, truthful stories that both bless and challenge them. In the past few decades the film department has been pretty lacking in this area, so…
Reading is a liberating act. It produces agency, a sense of independence and freedom of thought. This access to ideas and understanding is a most precious gift—one that is worth laboring over in pursuit of liberty. In Reading for the Long Run: Leading Struggling Students into the Reading Life, Sara Osborne explores the riches and…
The other day, while sorting borrowed books back into our library basket (again), it struck me: my four daughters are checking out more chapter books than picture books these days. Which means that I am also reading a lot of chapter books—pre-reading for my younger girls, so I can help them find the good ones,…
