Archive for March, 2009
The Poetry of Bookmarks
There is no frigate like a book…–Emily Dickinson. All right, all right. It’s a little sailboat, I know. I don’t have a frigate charm. Two days ago, I wrote about the exquisite language in The Book Thief. I don’t think I used the word poetic, but that’s another way to describe Zuzak’s words. Immediately, my [...]
Share a Story–Shape a Future
Image credit: Author/illustrator Elizabeth O. Dulemba created the Share a Story – Shape a Future logo. Just prior to the Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy 2009 Bookmark Challenge, members of the impressively active Kidlitosphere launched Share a Story–Shape a Future to “share ideas and celebrate everything reading has to offer our kids.” For five [...]
Reading Roundup
What’s on my Nightstand? The Book Thief, by Markus Zuzak. This book meanders. In fact, for a reader who fancies a snappy pace, this one will likely seem slow. It’s also a little confusing because it hops around in space and time, often spoiling surprises by casually revealing what happens in advance. This book is [...]
Weekend Book Quotes
I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense. –Harold Kushner Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment [...]
Special Offer for Stitchers
Are you familiar with Loose Thread Stitchers (LTS)? It is a Web site dedicated to providing a quick and easy way to find needlework shops, products, events, offerings, and services on the Internet by allowing stitchers to search for needlework-related information by month, year, state, keyword, etc. I think of it this way: the site [...]
TBD, ’09 Press Release
For more information contact: Sara Easterly, Publicist for readergirlz Sara Easterly & Friends sara@saraeasterly.com 206-632-8588 READING STIMULUS PLAN FOR HOSPITALIZED TEEN PATIENTS LAUNCHES JUST IN TIME FOR “SUPPORT TEEN LIT DAY” APRIL 16 Despite economic downturn, generous publishers have donated thousands of young-adult books for readergirlz, Guys Lit Wire, and YALSA to deliver to teens [...]
Volcano Update
Thanks, Everyone, for your concerns about our welfare after recent eruptions of Mt. Redoubt. As yet, no ash has been blown this way; my walks to the mailbox have not been disrupted. I watch the Anchorage Daily News Web site for updates on volcano activity, and I’ve reviewed safety procedures. I’ll keep you posted as [...]
Children’s Choice Book Awards
Voting for the 2009 Children’s Choice Book Awards is taking place now through May 3. When I read kid-lit, I often wonder what kids think of the books, how their reading experiences differ from my own. The fact that kids’ books are written by adults, published by adults, reviewed by adults, given awards by adults, [...]
P-Hooks
It’s time for my annual rant about spending hours crafting beautiful hand-stitched bookmarks only to hide them inside books, where few people can see and enjoy them. Me? I prefer to keep my needlework out of the book, visible to me and the world. I attach my needlework to ribbons or shepherd’s hooks and allow [...]
Make Reading Fun
While I hope our hand-stitched bookmarks encourage kids to read, I think the very best way to improve literacy and make kids lifelong readers is to teach them to enjoy reading. After all, what motivates us to read? We think it’s fun! Learning to read, however, can be challenging. As something that is taught in [...]
