Listen Up! Kid Lit With a Quiet Message That Needs Heard

September 16, 2019 Blathering interrupters are exhausting. We’ve all been cornered by them, whether it’s an over-talking, sentence-finishing workplace colleague, an opinionated family member at a holiday gathering, or a social acquaintance lobbing rhetorical questions into the mix with zero intention of awaiting an answer. More often than not, they appear as if they can’t … [Read more...]

The Berenstain Bears Legacy Lives On Through Sons Mike and Leo

Feb. 27, 2012  Upon hearing of Berenstain Bears’ co-founder Jan Berenstain’s passing at 88 this past Friday, I’d like to send deepest condolences to the family, especially sons Mike (illustrator) and Leo (business) who continue to uphold the stories and standards of their parents’ gentle parables after 50 years and over 300 books of "kidlit" entertainment. To honor Jan’s … [Read more...]

Selling Reluctant Readers: 10 Marketing Tactics To Amp Up Fun

Feb. 14, 2017 Valentine's Day Update: More ways to encourage reading, with therapy dogs (via MindshiftKQED Learning)  and a few "Kidlit" picks for Valentine's Day that streamed across my desk, here and here...Off to my new tutoring gig at Reading Partners.org!  Jan. 16, 2017 MLK Weekend: Book Three of March is out with Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell and John Lewis' much needed … [Read more...]

Reading Rockets Kids Into Their Future (Pt.1: Kalimah Priforce)

Aug. 18, 2011 Virtual show of hands, please... If it’s not on the "must read" summer reading list for back to school prep, how many kids cracked a classic this season? How ‘bout a kidlit self-picked selection? An online virtual book club? An augmented reality fairytale? A graphic novel? Meaningful manga? Um, a poolside magazine, status line or text message? While some … [Read more...]

Shaping Youth: Freecycling Kids Books Throughout December

Dec. 4, 2010 Black Friday? Cyber Monday? Bah. Other than maybe beach towel joke gifts (silly kilt wraps, hula skirts for our wakeboarding tribe) they didn’t get much outta me this round, as I continue to purge more than splurge. So to continue this “simplify life” theme to FREECYCLE and gift myself some joy this season, I’m passing along a bounty of kids books to you, FREE … [Read more...]