Short-Changing Babies
… I thought that women and doctors insisting on early births for nonmedical reasons lived only in cynical imaginations and television soap operas. Turns out that, in the last decade, the main stream has effectively reduced ‘full-term’ to 37 weeks…
Why Not Free Choice?
… if the school system is broken, let’s fix it, not undermine it by creating alternatives that compete on an unlevel playing field. If charters receive public funds, they should have the same requirements, for better or for worse, of other publicly funded schools…
If You Give a Mom a Cracker…
This is my first comic strip. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.
Don’t Worry, Be Bored
… Much of our anxiety ‘stems from our busy, overactive minds always needing entertainment, something to focus on, and always wondering ‘What’s next?’ …
The Perils of Christmas
I love the Christmas decorations and songs that permeate offices, stores and homes. I love the legend of Santa Claus, who dedicates his life to the service of others. And I think it is important to remember and teach our kids about Jesus, if not as the Son of God, then as a most significant historical, political and spiritual figure and the cornerstone of the world's largest religion. But each year I have increasingly conflicted feelings about Christmas and the hypocritical way it's celebrated…
We Are Free You and Me by Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab
Not only are Kaepernick’s children’s picture books thought provoking and fun to read aloud, they are an example of social entrepreneurship of the purest kind, as 100% of their proceeds go to Know Your Rights Camp, which provides over $1.75 million in partnerships and collaborative grants to Black and brown communities as well as all-inclusive camps that are conducted nationwide to educate and empower Black and brown youth to be the change they want to see.
When Parents Can’t Read
…The principal said there’s nothing we can do about what happens at home; we can only maximize what we can do during the 8 hours that they are at school. In other words, our hands are tied. It’s a far worse prognosis and one that I simply cannot accept.
The Importance of Repetition
If you want your kids to digest the information in a book, you have to read it more than once. And it’s always best if you read it *together*. Many teaching styles are based on engaging repetition, including those of well-known Shinichi Suzuki. My hope is that you will approach my children’s books in this way as well.
Short-Changing Babies — A Presentation for the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina (PQCNC)
Whether or not it’s true, a lot of people think that the reason such discussion doesn’t happen is because doctors nowadays are under pressure to see so many patients per day that they simply don’t have or take the time to engage their patients and truly question and inform them regarding their medical decisions. Furthermore, the medical business has become such a business that patients are too often seen as paying clients who deserve a significant level of customer service. In other words, their patients should get what they want as long as it doesn’t put the business in more danger of litigation…
Lessons from Down Under
… Last month we returned to Melbourne with our kids. I couldn’t help comparing Melbourne and Durham, and in the process Australia and America, and noting things that would improve our county and country. I have a two-page list but have space here for only two of the most far-reaching comparisons …
Look: A Picture Book by Gabi Snyder and Samantha Cotterill
... The ending brings simple closure to this simple story and will touch adult readers even if it doesn’t connect with the children they are reading to; and the demonstration of patterns throughout the rest of the book is sure to make it a useful tool in kindergarten and first-grade classes.
The Lion King at DPAC Boasts a Top-Notch Cast and Spectacular Production Values
Much like "The Festival of the Lion King" performance that comes with tickets to Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park, the Broadway musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The Lion King (musical), which has been on Broadway since 1997, is Broadway's third longest-running show in history and the highest-grossing Broadway production of all time. But unlike the movie or amusement-park production, The Lion King (musical) puts its audience in the center of the life-sized animals that are integral to its Hamlet-like plot and message.
The Second Time Around: To Circumcise or Not to Circumcise
Everything about this pregnancy was different…
Mix A Pancake by Christina Rossetti and Monique Felix: A Review
Mix a Pancake, the latest book illustrated by Monique Felix for Creative Editions, an imprint of The Creative Company, is a kitten-filled visual feast akin to the Little Golden Books that have lined children’s bookshelves since 1942. This comes as no surprise, given that The Creative Company, itself, was founded just 10 years earlier, in 1932.
Who Pays for Schools?
…For virtually a decade, several NC counties including Chatham County, Orange County, and Chapel Hill/Carrboro, have been legally permitted to levy ‘builder impact fees’ (solely on new development) for schools, while Durham and the rest of NC have been prohibited from doing so…
See This Little Dot by Jane Yolen and Laetitia Devernay: A Review
True to its mission of pairing clear and compelling written content with “the most brilliant illustrations,” Creative Editions—an imprint of The Creative Company, founded in 1932—can be proud of their next thought-provoking and eye-catching creation in Jane Yolen’s and Laetitia Devernay’s newest picture book, See This Little Dot.
The UNC Science Expo – Reuniting Our Left and Right Brains
…As I tell kids, we are all born scientists. Our experiential knowledge is a blank slate, and we delight in the experiments and rational conclusions we conduct in order to live in this world. But we tend to lose this delight as we age, which is sad on so many levels…
Evil Spy School the Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs
“As with Gibbs’ other five book series, Evil Spy School is fun, fast-paced, and entertaining. Though fantastical to us adults, the plot of Evil Spy School contains precisely the kinds of twists and turns that engage elementary and young middle-school minds…”
Tomorrow's Lily by Chris Raschka
“Tomorrow’s Lily is a short, beautiful poem, written and illustrated by two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschko, that takes the reader through the days of the week as a single, magnificent, short-lived flower blooms on a long-stalked lily plant each day.”
You Are Everything — Adapted from Rumi by Omid Arabian
“Like Omid Arabian’s previous two picture books, You Are Everything is based on a poem by the mystical 13TH century Persian poet Rumi, who has been described by the New Yorker as the bestselling poet in the United States.”