making space for creativity
So, I’m in Atlanta. This is actually my third time in Atlanta. The first time I came to Atlanta I was 19, and it was your average college spring trip: you know where you and your dad drive a couple thousand miles from the Midwest through the south to see a slew of Great…
Our fourth Newbery Award winner was another surprise: a collection of folktales. Tales from the Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger has 19 short folk tales from South America. Confession, it turns out that I don’t love reading a whole book of folktales, at least not more than two or three at a…
Seven years ago yesterday, we got married. I was too excited to sleep. I woke up at 3:30 am, convinced that no one was going to remember to get communion bread. So I tried to sleep for another hour. I couldn’t believe that I had actually made it to that day, through the 9…
The third Newbery winner, from 1924, is a demanding read: a pirate tale set in the 17th century Atlantic World. What makes The Dark Frigate both remarkable and challenging is the way that author Charles Boardman Hawes meticulously researched mid-1600s’ sea-life and speech and poured it into his pirate yarn. The story centers around…
Since the birth of my sweet niece, we’ve been camping out at the family lake house. It’s a beautiful place to watch the trees unfurl their leaves and the sun come up earlier and earlier on the water of Lower Genesee Lake. We’ve also gotten to share this space, hosting a few weekend events…
After the marathon 500 page history book, The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle was a quick and fun read. It was about a fifth as long, and perhaps a fifth as difficult as the first Newbery Winner The Story of Mankind. Dr. Doolittle is by far the most popular of the 1920s Newbery Winners. It…
It was a late night in early September, when my brother called me. Evan and I had just pulled into our parking space in our Maryland apartment. “Hi,” my brother said. Then there was a pause and some random muffled sound. He was trying to get the speaker phone to work. Evan looked at…
The first Newbery winner from 1922 came as somewhat of a surprise to me, for my review the Newbery project. I think my working definition of Newbery winners was something like: a really great novel by an American, for kids between 10 and 12, but enjoyed by older and younger audiences as well. But…
I love the idea of a fancy planner. You know the kind that has pretty floral pages, goes inside a matching binder, and fits in the pocket of a matching leather purse. And inside my planner would be this lovely to-do list written in neat handwriting, arranged by priorities (A, B, C) and the…
Sometimes on long car rides or walks, Evan will indulge me and talk about our dream house. I say it is an indulgence because Evan likes to dream slightly practically, in a way that, with not too much difficulty, could become real. I like to dream extravagantly, in a way that will never most likely,…
The Fall of my Senior year in high school my dad announced that he was going to a service at an Orthodox Church 20 minutes away. He was not entirely sure it wasn’t all going to be in Russian. He came home delighted. It was in English, and it was beautiful. It was a…
It is Holy Wednesday, right in the middle of Holy Week, right before the great burst of waiting together that marks Maundy Thursday through Easter morn. It is a state of great anticipation. I can almost taste the coffee. I can almost feel the snow melt for good. I can almost feel the…
Today’s a shorty post since I’m recovering from the stomach flu, meaning that the last three days all I’ve done is watch the first season of Veronica Mars (recommended by Anne @ Modern Mrs. Darcy) and stay within a 10 second trip to the bathroom (recommended by my stomach). Hospitality is a…
Spring in Wisconsin is shy. She peaks out for a moment, almost sixty and sunny, then she ducks back, below freezing and blankets us in a light snow. This past month has felt like that, moments of rest and beauty that allow us to catch glimpses of the vision for why we moved, then…
One of the surprises of the last month has been answering people’s polite, “and what do you do” questions. And the answer has changed, just like my official address, from, “well, I nanny, and tutor, and blog, and I’m working on a children’s novel” to simply, “I’m a writer.” Sometimes, if I’m…