I’ve been researching Asian American and Asian furniture designers and artisans. Grasshopper and Sensei is enjoying the finds I am discovering and now she’s even talking about being an architect or furniture designer someday when she grows up. It’s not just the beautiful forms I’m searching for; it’s also the stories behind the designs. Take…
Exercise: A Small Change for a Big Difference
#OneSmallChange
16 Children’s Books With Single Parents
Read these children’s books with single parents! Includes picture books and chapter books featuring single-parent and nontraditional families. The divorce rate in America peaked at around 50 percent in the 1980s and slowly has been trending downward. It is now slightly more than 40 percent. With so many divorced families, why are there more children’s…
10 Books to Read for Banned Book Week
In honor of Banned Book Week, let’s read a book on the list! 10 Books to Read for Banned Book Week Information on why the book is banned or challenged is excerpted from The Daily Beast. 1. TTYL series by Lauren Myracle The first book in the series, “TTYL,” was banned from a town in Texas…
I’m Judging the Cybils!
I’m really excited to be judging Graphics (as in graphic novels) for the 2013 Cybils! What am I excited to read? Graphic novels that tell a great story, get kids excited to read, and have beautiful illustrations doing some of the heavy lifting of storytelling. I’d also love to discover more graphic stories for younger…
Monsters In the Closet Picture Books: The Dark
I started haunting our local bookstore to read picture books but I always feel guilty using it like a library so I make sure to buy a small stack. When it comes to picture books, I am the pickiest purchaser ever because I am buying for myself! The Dark made my purchase pile. I had…
Happy Birthday to My Mom: 90 Years Young!
Today my mom turns 90 years old! Oops, I mean 90 years young! Happy birthday Mom! She was born in San Francisco’s Japantown in 1923. Her parents immigrated from Japan and I have that story here along with our Japanese family crest. During WWII, she was forced to relocate with her family. She ended up in a remote…







