Justice, Equality, Rights…Forever
As Women’s History Month opens, I was curious to open the document The Declaration of the Rights of Women signed on the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I was quite taken with the last line: We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever. —The Declaration of the Rights of Women How do we pass on the concepts of justice, equality, and civil and political rights to our daughters, sons, and students? (Is not children’s literature (always)...
Read MoreValentine to Kid Lit
As the day to celebrate romantic love approaches, we ask what Kid Lit character holds your heart in a way only a Valentine should? Who would you run away with? Listen to Podcast of our conversation on Kid Lit Love with Chris Lenois of WKVT’s Live & Local here. In a poll of children’s book writers, librarians, and readers on Facebook, the Classics came into play. Would you also… Go down the river with Huck Finn? Go into that dark cave with Tom Sawyer? Go up into the Alps with Heidi? Take the plunge with Mr. Darcy? Go into Boo Radley’s yard with Scout? Leave the...
Read MoreReading for Empathy, Reading for Distance
Looking back on 2013, what were the news stories that you could not get enough of? What stories did you need to avert your eyes from? Sometimes the veil of story allows us – as adult and child readers – to more deeply understand and bear the news of the day. In fact, in a study released by the journal Science, it was found that reading literary fiction makes us more empathetic, socially perceptive, and emotionally intelligent than reading non-fiction or the news. Read more in the New York Times article, “For Better Social Skills, Scientists Recommend a Little...
Read MoreBooks Under the Covers
In the way of grand Children’s Lit conversations, Chris Lenois and I from WKVT Live & Local went from talking – great picture books to get under the covers with (or to put under the tree) – to detective boys fiction – to outstanding non-fiction – to audiobook opportunities. Zig Zag Zoom. Whatever part of that conversation struck your fancy, here is a list of the books we discussed and here is the Podcast of us sweetly nattering on… ___________________________________________________________________________________ Cub’s Big World By Sarah L....
Read MoreWhy YA?
Curious City spoke with Chris Lenois on WKVT’s Live & Local about “Why YA?” Why is YA (or Young Adult Literature) on the rise amongst non-teen readers and filling movie screens? Listen to the podcast here. In the discussion I touched on the rise of Dystopian fiction and the harrowing fictional issues of war and destruction in these novels being a “first world problem.” I wrote about this topic for the Vermont College of Fine Arts journal Hunger Mountain in an article entitled, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”...
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