A nonfiction picture book is just the perfect thing for a lazy afternoon, isn’t it? Even those industrious Ingalls girls, Laura and Mary, spent some time probably sprawled on the floor, looking at the animals in Pa’s “big green book,” The Wonders of the Animal World. I recall many hours from my own childhood of…
If I were to tell a young person about The Last Archer by S.D. Smith, I’d probably say something like this: It’s the story of an archer named Jo Shanks who wants to earn his place among a group of elite bowmen (bowrabbits? bowbucks?) from Halfwind Citadel. He goes through various trials and battles in…
Everyone tells you that children grow up too fast. It seems like yesterday that my four children were all little, and our house was full of squeaky toddler voices and baby coos. This past week was full of milestones where I watched my oldest child growing up before my eyes. He still has the same…
We could hear our 5-year old’s heavy footfall coming down the stairs after being tucked in for the night. “Mama? Papa?” he called. “When am I going to get my burden?” His question set our own feet into action and we met him at the bottom of the stairs. “Whenever He’s ready,” my husband assured…
I was delighted to sit down in the Forge with editor and author James D. Witmer to talk about his role in editing The Green Ember Series (including an interesting detail about Lord Rake) and his new book, A Year in the Big Old Garden. And I’m delighted to share that James is giving away…
As the days get shorter and colder I love to heighten the anticipation of winter with my children through excellent winter-themed picture books. I find reading great books together draws us closer as a family, awakens our awareness of creation, brightens our imaginations and gives us great memories. With that in mind I wanted to…
I tend to write about a lot of picture books here at Story Warren, but there’s another format that has been growing in my esteem over the past year: the board book! Both with the babies and toddlers in my library story times, and with my one-year-old nephew, I would be lost without the sturdy,…
Homemade egg noodles. Cranberry jello with chopped fruit, served in a crystal bowl. Crescent yeast rolls, perfect for sandwiches made with leftover turkey. The sights and smells of the foods from my childhood have become synonymous with the Thanksgiving holiday. What we grow to know and love when we’re young, we carry into adulthood. Family…
There is a calico cat that treads about our backyard like a fancy hobo. He’s scrawny and haughty both. I did this picture after a conversation my wife and I had about him. If you are the parent entrusted with bedtime story duties, perhaps you might conjure up a journey for him and see where…
Two years ago, I sat near John Hendrix around a campfire and he told us about the book he was working on. He said it was a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer that would tell the story of the plot within the German ranks to kill Hitler during World War II. Oh, and he was drawing…
Do you know a budding storyteller between the ages of four and eighteen? Our friend, artist Jamin Still (https://jaminstill.com), has a terrific opportunity to offer them. Jamin has generously donated this beautifully magical painting as a story illustration. What that story says is up to your budding writer! Have your young author write a bit…
Occasionally, in the flood of articles, information, and updates we read online, something comes along that makes a quantifiable difference in our lives. It happened for me some years ago when I read an article about the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. According to the author (whose name and information I’ve…
