To fold an origami crane, you will need a square piece of paper. It does not have to be origami paper. Here are the instructions via a diagram from the U.S. Park Service, though personally, I find the diagrams to be confusing: This is an activity for Barbed Wire Between Us. …
I used the Boston Public Library’s children’s book lists for years when my children were young. We used to read ten picture books every night because picture books worked for all three ages, and my kids expected each book to be outstanding. This meant that I had to seek out award-winning books so as not…
During our Hawaii vacation, I purposely did not bring my computer. Instead, I packed a small watercolor kit with the intention of finishing a sketchbook during that trip. I had watched Taria of Taria’s Sketchy Adventures on YouTube create a beautiful memory book by urban sketching her vacation. I wasn’t able to paint every day,…
For many adult children, starting a conversation about aging and finances with a parent feels like crossing an invisible, uncomfortable boundary. It is hard to accept that the people who raised you and managed the household are entering a vulnerable chapter of their lives. Our natural instinct is to avoid the awkwardness and delay these…
We probably made a mistake by going to the Smithsonian Museum of African American History first. It’s next door. I think it was the soul food meal that put my husband and me into a food coma. Still, we wandered through the museum in search of dinosaurs, and it did not disappoint. They also have…
In Japan, the crane (tsuru) is a symbol of peace, good fortune, and longevity. It is a bird of happiness and spreads good luck. It is believed that folding 1,000 paper cranes (senbazuru) will help to bring about hope, healing, and peace. These children’s books featuring origami cranes also send a message of hope and…
In Conversation: Mia Wenjen and Jolene Gutiérrez Mar 31, 2026 Mia Wenjen and Jolene Gutiérrez both grapple with the cruelty of internment and family separation in their new picture books Barbed Wire Between Us and Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp, respectively. The two authors spoke about depicting difficult subject matter for young readers,…