Red Reading Boots - Bookology Magazine

A Mischief of Mice

September 13, 2024 1 Comment

Adults should get something from storytime, too. I read a book that’s maybe more for them than the kids — it’s extra special when there’s a book like this that is fascinating for these wee ones and their adults.

King Hugo’s Huge Ego

June 14, 2024 1 Comment

Now that it’s summer, we have some school age kids coming, and I find that I need to select some picture books with more words, more humor, gorgeous art, etc. They’ll sit politely for a couple of lift-the-flap books and one-word-per-page books, but then they need something for them. When the babies start wiggling and running and sharing snacks, I pull out the big-kid books.

Winter Books

January 12, 2024 No Comments

I have picked out a month’s worth of snowy books for the long wintery month of January. But I’m second guessing it now. Must our storytime be so snowy?

Storytime Planning!

September 13, 2023 No Comments

It’s that time of year — new schedules and planning, new notebooks and books, new activities, and priorities … and a new storytime!

A Shelter for Sadness

June 21, 2023 3 Comments

Sometimes, I am so touched by a book that I cannot figure out how best to share it with kids. Such is the case with A Shelter for Sadness by Anne Booth and David Litchfield.

The Secret Garden

April 26, 2023 6 Comments

Now that books are being banned and “revised” for language used before we “knew better,” I find myself thinking about this a lot.

A Literary Advent Calendar

December 17, 2022 6 Comments

This year, I decided to do a special advent calendar for them. Each day of advent there was a Christmasy quote from literature, heavy on our Christmas picture books. And chocolates.

If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackwell

October 15, 2022 1 Comment

I love reading wordless picture books and picture books that are very busy (think Richard Scarry’s books) with small groups of kids. My latest favorite of this “genre” is Sophie Blackall’s If You Come to Earth.

A Literary Bathroom

June 14, 2022 1 Comment

And then came the time to choose a theme for the bathroom. We got the family together so everyone could have their say. And people…I’m so proud! Our offspring suggested a literary-themed bathroom!

Zoom Storytime

March 23, 2022 No Comments

Never did I ever think I would do storytime on a screen. I want to see those sweet faces, get the high-fives and hugs, watch their delight in a story’s twists and turns. However…needs must!

Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden

May 13, 2021 1 Comment

I’ve been reading gardening books these last few weeks. They’ve kept me entertained and inspired while the temperatures warm in my own garden so that I can begin planting the flats of flowers I have under lights in my laundry room.

And the People Stayed Home

April 15, 2021 4 Comments

Perhaps you saw it. On social media, or in a chain email. A poem that seemed like a hopeful sigh went out into the world very early in the pandemic last spring and made its rounds as quickly as the virus. And the people stayed home.
And they listened, and read books,
and rested, and exercised, and made art,
and played games, and learned new ways of being,
and were still….

… more

Reading Mary Oliver with Kids

March 11, 2021 8 Comments

Sunday mornings find me on zoom with a gathering of kids ages 3 – 10. We call this time Songs & Stories. It is a highlight in my week. They come in their pajamas, often eating breakfast, and usually with some “stuffies” they want to introduce to the group. They are full of energy and good cheer.

… more

The Comfort of James Herriot’s Stories

February 11, 2021 16 Comments

I don’t know if you are watching All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece Theater on PBS these Sunday nights, but if you’re not, you are missing something wonderful.

The Very First & Last Page

January 14, 2021 6 Comments

Last week I zoom-visited a kindergarten class to read my own picture book. The class was terrific and at the end we had a time for Q & A. They are working on the difference between asking a question and “sharing.” It’s an important and difficult skill. One little girl, who might’ve been a stringer for the New York Times, or perhaps an after-school prosecutor, so mature and earnest in her questioning was she, asked to see “the very first page of the book.”… more

Shall I Knit You a Hat?

December 10, 2020 1 Comment

I’ve received a wonderful early Christmas gift this year — two new regular storytimes to conduct. Both interested in the season’s books — and do I have Christmas books to share! The only downside — and I can live with it — is that it’s via the technologies with which we see people these days. I’m so grateful for the Zooms, the FaceTimes, the Facebook Lives…it’s the only way to safely see folks and it makes things like storytime possible.… more

Poetry Teatime

November 12, 2020 4 Comments

On Halloween morning, Pooh Bear came for a visit on our porch. There was coffee for her parents and hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles for her, as well as a round of pastries for all. A lovely morning, however distanced and masked we had to remain.

Enola Holmes

October 15, 2020 4 Comments

I sent the email as a joke, really. Netflix sent me the announcement that the much anticipated Enola Holmes movie would premier on the upcoming Wednesday, and so I sent our (grown-up) kids an email with words I certainly never thought I’d utter and don’t really understand: We should have a Netflix Party! (For those of you who also don’t understand this — though I recognize I’m likely part of a diminishing group of people — a Netflix Party is a new feature of Netflix in which Netflix synchronizes your video watching on your separate devices in your separate places and adds a group chat to the screen.… more

Thanks for the Memories, Miss Rumphius!

September 10, 2020 8 Comments

Today, the day I am writing this column, has been a long one. It started with a 4 a.m. alarm. It is the day Darling Daughter moves to college. In Boston. Which is far from Minnesota and so necessitates a plane ride. During a pandemic. Alone, as her university is not allowing parents on campus during this challenging time. Tell me you think I’m very brave.… more

Almost Time

May 14, 2020 No Comments

I’ve been waiting for Elizabeth Stickney and Gary D. Schmidt’s Almost Time for quite awhile. Seems appropriate — it’s a book about waiting, after all. I read very early drafts of it years ago, so long ago that I can hardly recall details — only that it’s about the making of maple syrup. What I discovered upon reading it in published form is that in addition to being about the making of maple syrup, this book is also about the solace found in waiting and working together.… more

Storytime in the Time of Coronavirus

April 9, 2020 No Comments

I’ve had the great joy these last few weeks of pulling together “distanced” storytimes for a few families who could use a half hour of sitting on the couch and letting someone else entertain and interact with the kids. This has been a stretch for me. Though I’m grateful for all of the apps and platforms that allow us to see and talk virtually — during this time, especially — I would not choose to do storytime this way.… more

The Rabbit Listened

February 13, 2020 No Comments

In my current regular storytime group, I have a little one who insists he has whatever book I’m reading at his house, too. I hold up a book and he jumps in excitement. “I have that book at my house!” he says, while his parents shake their head behind him. I tease him saying, “We must have exactly the same bookshelves.”… more

Heidi Bread

January 9, 2020 2 Comments

I realized (again) over the winter holidays this year that much of holiday frivolity centers on food. I’d have it no other way, myself, but I must say that after a couple/few weeks of eating grand meals, too many sweets, and grabbing tea/coffee more often than usual, I crave simplicity when I sit down for lunch in the middle of a writing day.… more

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

December 12, 2019 10 Comments

“Hey! Unto you a child is born!” I think of this line each and every Christmas Eve when the Christmas story according to Luke’s Gospel is read. If I’m the one doing the reading, and you were to pay close attention, you’d probably notice that I have to take a nano-second pause so as to drop the “Hey!” and read it “straight.”… more

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

November 14, 2019 No Comments

In my storytime bag this past month I’ve been carrying The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I don’t always use it, but I like having it with me — I know it will always work. When I pull this book out of the bag, there are smiles, clapping sometimes, and always a chorus of “I have that book!” The Very Hungry Caterpillar is fifty years old this year.… more

Bee-bim Bop

October 10, 2019 No Comments

I’ve been on the storytime circuit this last month as I have a new picture book of my very own. Readers of this column know how much I adore storytime, so wherever I’ve gone to read my book, I’ve asked if I can do a whole storytime, the better to read other picture books, as well. Usually the regular beleaguered storytime readers are happy to have this happen.… more

Moving Books

September 12, 2019 8 Comments

Many momentous things have gone down in our house this summer. #1 Son graduated from college in May, is gainfully employed (locally!) as a software engineer, and has recently moved to an apartment. Darling Daughter started her senior year of high school last week and is busy working on college applications. It makes me a little light headed to think of it.… more

Strictly No Elephants

April 25, 2019 1 Comment

It had been one of those news days…. Actually, there had been a string of such news days — hate-filled headlines, bombastic egos, dangerous threats. The world seemed extra prickly and dangerous. It’s at these times that I especially like reading with kids. Fortunately, I had a reading gig all lined up at an elementary school — it was the week leading up to Read Across America.… more

Kids & Books…Books & Kids

March 28, 2019 1 Comment

Last week I was a teacher-presenter at a young authors and artists conference for a couple of days. Tremendous fun — the kids who come to these things want to be there and want to learn. They’re readers, writers, artists! They are an engaged, engaging, and exuberant lot, which I enjoy immensely. I taught six sessions on bringing conflict to your stories — “Making It Even Worse” was the title of my session.… more

The Season Of Styx Malone

February 28, 2019 2 Comments

Our Books & Bagels book group met a couple of weeks ago to discuss The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon. When I pick the books for this parent-child bookclub, I’ve usually read them in advance and know they will be good for discussion. This one I picked before I’d read it. I’d read reviews and whatnot, of course, but I think it was actually the cover that made me sure this would be a great book for our group.… more

Bim, Bam, Bop … and Oona, an Interview

January 30, 2019 1 Comment

Poor Oona — she’s always the last duck to the pond…. But then her frog friend Roy reminds her: you’re good with gizmos… And so Oona the duck goes to work in the barn on her gizmos, pouring her creative and determined self into getting to the pond before the faster ducks. Along the way, she learns there is more to life than just being fast and getting somewhere first.… more

Olive, The Other Reindeer

December 20, 2018 1 Comment

I’m writing this on the birthday of my dear friend, Molly. She is one of my bestest friends from college days. It’s a big birthday — well worth celebrating, which she’ll do next week with a rollerskating party complete with musical hits from the 1980’s. This is very Molly — the kids immediately said, “Only Molly!” Molly is, quite possibly, the coolest of our friends.… more

The Christmas Alphabet

December 6, 2018 1 Comment

When our kids were small and we were building our Christmas book collection, the night on which we brought out the holiday books that had been in storage since the previous year was always a very special night. With #1 Son, this was but a handful of books at first; but once we added Darling Daughter to the family, and St.… more

The Quiltmaker’s Journey

November 21, 2018 No Comments

Earlier this week I pulled out our small stash of Thanksgiving picture books. The kids are older now, but they seem to like it when the old favorites come out. I got lost, as I always do, in The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau, illustrated by Gail de Marcken. I’ve written about that book for Red Reading Boots — you can find that here.… more

The Princess and Her Panther

November 8, 2018 No Comments

Last week, I was working on my WIP, a sprawling mess of a novel. I’d hit a rough patch and I set myself the assignment to just type away for ten minutes — ten minutes of nonstop typing just to Get Words Down — I wouldn’t let my fingers stop. I simply needed some words to work with, I told myself. I do not usually resort to this, but it was not a particularly good writing day.… more

The BIG Umbrella

October 25, 2018 1 Comment

I am extraordinarily lucky in that I have a group of wee ones who join me for storytime most weeks. They’re little — age three and under, with several babies in the mix — so we don’t tell long stories or read great doorstopper books. But with picture books, some of the best ones are pretty spare in terms of words.… more

The Penderwicks

October 11, 2018 No Comments

I have a mixed history with The Penderwicks books by Jeanne Birdsall. The first book, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale Of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy came out in 2005 when #1 Son was eight and Darling Daughter was three. It won the National Book Award that year and there was much flurry over it.… more

The Stuff of Stars

September 27, 2018 2 Comments

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the book birth of The Stuff of Stars by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Ekua Holmes. I heard the text a year ago and forgot to breathe while the author read it out loud. And then I heard who the illustrator was. Let’s just say, what a pairing! When I opened my much anticipated copy — after oohing and aaahing over the cover — and read the first page, I heard cello.… more

Story Time for All

September 13, 2018 1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago, Darling Daughter and I made our way to the Farmers Market. I’ve been recovering from a bit of surgery, and truth be told, I wasn’t feeling great that morning, but needed to get out and about. We wandered the stalls, got our veggies, our goat cheese, our sunflowers…then some coffee and lemonade and cardamom donuts so as to sit down and rest a bit.… more

Little Women

May 24, 2018 No Comments

Darling Daughter and I watched the recent PBS version of Little Women last weekend.I was out of town when the first episode aired, but she waited for me and we streamed it Friday night so we’d be caught up to watch the final two episodes Sunday night. I liked Little Women just fine as a kid. I read it tucked between the banisters and “the old book cabinet” at the top of my grandparents’ stairs when I was probably nine or ten.… more

The Giant Jam Sandwich

May 10, 2018 No Comments

Recently, I was invited to a baby shower. I love shopping for baby showers, because I almost always give books and knit a wee little hat — two of my most favorite things. I had the hat all done except for the top little curly-cues, but I was fresh out of board books and so went on a happy little jaunt to one of my local bookstores.… more

Waiting

April 26, 2018 4 Comments

I had the pleasure this past weekend of accompanying an energetic eight-year-old boy down Washington Avenue on the University of Minnesota campus. We were on foot — his feet faster than the rest in our party, but we easily caught up at each of the pedestrian intersections because he stopped at the light at each and every one.… more

Pablo and Birdy

March 29, 2018 No Comments

There are books I read with my eyes leaking beginning to end. Counting by Sevens…Swallows and Amazons…The View From Saturday…Because of Winn Dixie…Orbiting Jupiter…. I don’t mean to say these books make me cry — that’s another category, the ones that make you ugly cry so you can’t read it outloud. Rather, these leaky-eye books are stories read through a watery prism from the first page on.… more

The Hate You Give

March 15, 2018 No Comments

This past weekend, Darling Daughter and I participated in a parent-teen book discussion about The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas. This book has won many awards, received fantastic reviews, and is a hot topic of discussion in both the book and teen world — especially where those worlds overlap. It’s about the aftermath of a police shooting of an unarmed black teen.… more

A Porcupine Named Fluffy

March 1, 2018 1 Comment

It’s Read Across America Week this week and I had the privilege of hauling a bag of books to a local elementary school and reading to five different classes — K‑2^nd grade — last Tuesday. A truly wonderful way to spend the afternoon, I must say. #1 Son’s 21^st birthday was Tuesday, which made me all nostalgic for the days of picture books, and so I’d packed a bag full of his long-ago favorites (and a couple newer ones, too).… more

The Human Alphabet

February 15, 2018 2 Comments

At my local library, a couple of weeks ago, I flipped through the books that were for sale by the Friends of the Library. These are mostly books that have been removed from the shelves for one reason or another. The kids’ books cost $.50—fifty cents, people! I’ve found some great ones in these bins. The find this time: Pilobolus Dance Company’s The Human Alphabet.… more

The Pushcart War

January 25, 2018 No Comments

I first heard of Jean Merrill’s The Pushcart War in grad school. I read it because a fellow student spoke with absolute glee about it. I’ve not heard a book recommended with such laughter and vigor before or since. And I fell into the book just as she insisted I would. Fell, I tell you. Lost my head, really. My kids did, too.… more

A Wrinkle in Time

January 11, 2018 2 Comments

It was a dark and stormy night. When I read this aloud one chilly fall evening on the porch to my kids, I laughed out loud. It was Banned Books week and we were “celebrating” by reading Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, one of the perennial repeaters on banned books lists. #1 Son was in fourth grade, which is when I’d been introduced to A Wrinkle in Time.… more

The Grinch

December 14, 2017 12 Comments

I’m just going to say it. Go on the record. I do not like The Grinch. I do not like the book. I do not like the character. I do not like the story of How The Grinch Stole Christmas. I do not like the brilliant theater productions of the story (though I acknowledge the brilliance.) I do not like the TV special, which I grew up watching, and which I did not let my kids watch.… more

Thanksgiving Tea

November 30, 2017 7 Comments

The week before Thanksgiving I was part of a wonderful Thanksgiving-themed Storytime. Excellent books were read: Otis Gives Thanks by Loren Long and Thankful by Eileen Spinelli. We sang through There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Turkey by Lucille Colandro, and Simple Gifts by Chris Raschka. All was going swimmingly — beautiful children, rapt and smiling. They were very young, but you could tell they were read to regularly.… more

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