While we road-tripped through your great Grand Canyon State last week, I worked with my daughter on her rocks project for school. With all that red rock and limestone all around us, she and I were charged with delving into the architecture of the Jefferson Memorial—a grand and important monument made solidly of Georgia marble … Continue reading An Open Letter to Governor Jan Brewer:
“I cried so much, I’m washed enough.” (or, The Genius of Kevin Henkes)
I spend a lot of time with a 6 year old boy, which is to say that I spend a lot of time tripping over forts improbably made out of board game boxes and empty toilet paper rolls. I don’t ever get used to it either. I’ve written about the tiny little pieces of things … Continue reading “I cried so much, I’m washed enough.” (or, The Genius of Kevin Henkes)
New Year, Newish Me*
*(Nothing to do with kids’ books, everything to do with #jewishgirls twitter prompts…) I sometimes read Goop—Gwyneth Paltrow’s aspirational online lifestyle magazine--browsing the recipes and clothes that might change my life if I could just…would just…shop for the ingredients, do the gritty work celebrity fitness addicts do in their kitchens all afternoon, soaking beans, sautéing … Continue reading New Year, Newish Me*
“After Miranda was done saving her own life, she called someone who could commiserate…”
I was at the movies this weekend and it was crowded, so crowded I had to sit in one row with my first-born while my husband sat a few rows up with our second child. It was a funny movie and I found myself glancing behind me and up, trying to catch my husband’s eye—searching, … Continue reading “After Miranda was done saving her own life, she called someone who could commiserate…”
Is it more interesting to be gay or a Kardashian?
A friend recently asked me how she should go about writing a children’s book that represents her family’s life. I admit that on any given day, I might find this question aggravating. While some of the people who solicit writing advice are indeed writers, many of the people interested in writing books for kids are … Continue reading Is it more interesting to be gay or a Kardashian?
20 Seconds of Courage (over and over again)
Thanks to Cameron Crowe, we have a new parenting philosophy around our house. Recently, as a family, we watched We Bought a Zoo, where Matt Damon’s character, Benjamin Mee, invokes 20 seconds of courage as a lifestyle mantra. We don’t learn about it until late in the movie when Mee’s mopey son has something to … Continue reading 20 Seconds of Courage (over and over again)
“I Said Ay, Man…” (So, you want to be a Huxtable)
If it isn’t enough that my children—thanks to XM radio’s 80’s on 8—think that Beat It and Come on Eileen are current radio hits, add to that my insistence on exposing them to the child-rearing of the Huxtable family and let’s see what we have here. Kids who live in a time warp of one-hit … Continue reading “I Said Ay, Man…” (So, you want to be a Huxtable)
Jessica Wakefield, Paula Danziger, and me
If you were lucky, someone likely came along at some point in your life and set you straight--leaving in their wake a person who might have otherwise traveled a different path. A less interesting path. Or maybe just a less inspired one. And if you were especially lucky, this person came along when you were … Continue reading Jessica Wakefield, Paula Danziger, and me
“I’m gonna send your vote to college” (or 2nd grade anyway)
When, during the Democratic National Convention, they paid tribute to the late Ted Kennedy, I sat down on the sofa to watch even as the chaos of the dinner and homework hour pressed on. I expected to have to ignore the crashes and whines that usually come in the wake of my getting sidelined by … Continue reading “I’m gonna send your vote to college” (or 2nd grade anyway)
Have the day you have!
Sometimes, in the course of my day, I step on the tiny little pieces of whatever my five-year-old has collected from the universe of tiny little pieces and then methodically arranged across his floor--turning his bedroom into a rigged, land-mine experience for us and our bare feet. I can’t freak out, though. I have to … Continue reading Have the day you have!
tin-can stilts 