I read. A lot. On any given day, I need to be prepared to "booktalk" titles, both fiction and nonfiction, with students in grades 6-12. Intense, right? This year, so far, I've read 55 books with a focus on titles of interest to middle school kids. After a couple of realistic novels about 6th or … Continue reading Going Wild
The song road remains the same
When I think back to my teen years two things stand out distinctly – and I’m not talking about sex and cheap beer. No, in the small town where I grew up, a place with limited transportation options and even fewer entertainment opportunities, cruising (or walking) around listening to the radio (or cassettes) was our … Continue reading The song road remains the same
Man crush Monday
This is my first attempt at noting this weekly event so forgive me if I fail to acknowledge it appropriately. I'm a word girl and my crushes are literary, not literal and, since I'm a librarian, I'll give them to you alphabetically. The most local of my crushes and the only dedicated nonfiction writer is … Continue reading Man crush Monday
Reflecting on 30 years
Despite my attempts at processing the hundreds of distinct thoughts and images in my head following my trip to the past last weekend, my mind is still in a whirl. During my drive north, while I tried to assert a sense of order to all that had been stimulated in my head, I realized that … Continue reading Reflecting on 30 years
A Monster Calls
Written by Patrick Ness and beautifully illustrated by Jim Kay, A Monster Calls, relates the story of young Conor, a boy in England living in denial about his divorced mother’s health prognosis. At night Conor is subjected to a recurring nightmare of such horror that he cannot even verbalize the events he witnesses, while during … Continue reading A Monster Calls
Squirrelly girlies
Last Sunday, while most of you were probably still snug in your jammies sipping coffee, the Lunar B*tches reunited in a parking lot up at Thacher. It was grey and wet and chilly, but the festive and costume-clad crowd pumped us up for our 6 mile trail run, the Squirrelly Six. I was glad that … Continue reading Squirrelly girlies
The multiculturalism of crepes
My youngest son goes to a magnet elementary school in our neighborhood. The latter fact is more the reason he attends that particular school than the arts and humanities centered curriculum, but we do enjoy many of the activities based upon the school's theme. This week the school community's marked their Third Annual Multicultural Celebration. … Continue reading The multiculturalism of crepes