I’m pleased to be a featured reader at the first EcoAction Author Night on May 21 in Arlington, Virginia. EcoAction Arlington, the event organizer, was formerly known as Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE). The organization celebrated 40 years last fall! I’m honored to be reading with Tara Campbell, author of TreeVolution, from which she…
reading
On the eve of finishing Harry Potter
In just 30 pages, I will have finished the epic that is the Harry Potter series. My son and I started it in July, a week after his cousin had read him a chapter at a beach cottage and two days before my son ended up breaking his leg. We did a lot of reading…
Author Dav Pilkey shares history of learning challenges
A few hours ago, my eight-year-old son and I popped back on the Metro from the Library of Congress National Book Festival at the DC Convention Center after sampling just a fraction of what the event had to offer in this, its first year taking place inside. The key attraction that got us there by 11…
City mouse, country mouse, suburban mom
It’s been a lifelong desire of mine to live many different existences at one time. I wanted to be a jet-setting child actress and also live a life of quiet contemptation from my perch in the treehouse. I wanted to be a busy, driven academic and also a party girl. Today, I want to be…
Jealousy in the face of children’s periodicals
Maybe it’s just because I have a fever or a painful skin issue that came out of nowhere, but I’m feeling sad when I look at the issues of High Five and Highlights that are currently taking up real estate on my bathroom floor. I just for the first time took a glance at the…
Reading is fundamental (and so is writing)
I did not go to my child’s school to read in my pajamas today. Does this make me a bad parent? I’m going to vote no. I did have his dad pick him up some new non-flame-retardant-sprayed pj’s at Hanna Andersson yesterday (for the “it’s organic and in the mall” price far above Costco rates)…
Book reading as therapy: Monica Lemoine of Knocked Up, Knocked Down
I had the pleasure two weeks ago of hearing Monica Murphy Lemoine read from her book Knocked Up, Knocked Down: Postcards from the Brink of Parenthood while she was in town for a conference on perinatal and infant death. Let me tell you, Monica is no less engaging in person. Her book was already funny…
My friend, a prize-winning author!
I just got back from a great meeting with my writing group — women who consistently challenge me and teach me, as a writer and as a mother. One of our members had to stay home with a sick child tonight, but it was great to see that she recently won the Silver prize at…
Bye Bye, Book World
The Washington Post is going to stop printing its Sunday Book World insert. I know a lot of extra expense items are going by the wayside these days. I also understand that there are a lot of other publications out there that fit this bill, and I should be reading those. But this was my…
The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had – a novel for middle school aged readers
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend Hooray for Books‘ book release party for The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, a novel for middle grade readers by first-time novelist Kristin Levine. I did, however have with me my son (just a month younger than the author’s daughter), and keeping him from…
Mama likes to read
Nursing a sick kid sure does give you time to read. Come to think of it, having a kid who calms down more (and sometimes even falls asleep) when you read while he’s nursing than while you do anything else has also helped. I’d forgotten how enjoyable it is to get lost in a full…
Book Review: 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny
As a writer who often has to tap on the keys for hours and pages before I can find the most important thread of an essay, I have great admiration for authors like Phillip Done who can present a smart, witty and fulfilling treatment of a topic in just a few paragraphs and at the…