Museum Mile Festival

Easter Craft Fair with Local Artists

Time Travel to Revolutionary America

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Meet The Giants: 7 Big Reasons to Welcome Newcomers

Shopping for Kids’ Books (ages 9 to 12) at your Home or Library?

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“Life in the Seven Kingdoms is never dull . . .” –Jen McConnel, School Library Journal

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Category: Trying new things

When You Can’t Keep Up with all the New Experiences

view from Les Courmettes of chestnut trees and the sea in the distance

This is an epic train journey that is slowly coming down the tracks to you . . . When you can’t keep up with all the new experiences in your life, it’s overwhelming, even when the experiences are good. For many, 2023 was a year of acceleration–after the pandemic, everyone seemed to be making up […]

How I recycled to make a cover for my new kobo Clara color ereader

finished ereader cover

This is the story of a quiet afternoon and what came out of it. Using what you have can remind you that you have “enough” already, sometimes more than enough. If you like to “use what you have”, you might enjoy this step-by-step way to make an ereader cover from an old ice cream bucket. […]

Let the 2024 SCBWI Europolitan Come to You!

pre conference workshops for the 2024 Europolitan

Calling all children’s book writers and illustrators in Europe! Focus, Color, Query, and Setting Workshops for Writers and Illustrators of Children’s Books For those of you who can’t make it to the fantastic Europolitan in Cologne, Germany this year (or for those who are but just want a little more), we have a treat for […]

Train travel in Belgium

Thalys red train in station

Even more Day 1 of the travel to an environmental conference without breaking the environment. #BumpityBoulevardOnTheRails The traveling went faster than the blogging so now I’m playing catch-up. I’m looking for barriers and benefits to this way of traveling and finding both. So much of our behaviour connects to the stories we tell ourselves. Which […]

How to travel on the train

dressed up in tutus to travel on the train

Green travel can be fun! This mini-post is a tiny bit more on how to get to a conference on the environment with breaking the environment. Why should life be serious all the time? The Rhineland in Germany is famous for “Frohsinn” which means “cheerfulness”. Their ability to manufacture good cheer comes out during Karneval, […]

In the beginning we go the wrong way

Day 1 in our quest to get to a conference on  the environment without breaking the environment. I like trains and we’re about to go on a lot of them. Our mission? To get to an A Rocha conference in Southern France without flying. And back again. And to visit as many bookstores and libraries […]

That’s the hardest part about . . .

horse-drawn harrow in the distant field

I wish I’d asked what was the hardest part about working with a horse: keeping the rows straight or making the turn at the end of the row? This post is a mini tour of the open-air museum in Lindlar, Germany: the LVR-Freilichtmuseum Lindlar. “That’s the hardest part of weaving. Getting the edges even.” -Weaver […]

More school resources from wonderful children’s authors: Justine Laismith

Metropolitan Museum of Art Stag Hunt

STAG HUNT attributed to Huang Zongdao (Northern Song or Jin Dynasty 96-1234) from Metropolitan Museum of Art online collection. More great materials after your students have “used up” Justine Laismith’s! Author Justine Laismith has a great page of school resources introducing Chinese culture for ages 9 to 13 years. The videos, activities, and photos are […]

What is International Book Giving Day?

poster for international book giving day

What is international book giving day? 6 ways you can get involved: 14th February is about getting books into the hands of as many children as possible on 14th February #bookgivingday “1 in 8 disadvantaged children in the UK don’t own a single book” [source: National Literacy Trust, Dec 2017] 6 Ways You Can Get […]