My Blog

  • Portraits

    She brings me with her when she goes out. Children bring in more money, she says. Children without shoes, without good clothes, with hunger in their faces and pinched cheeks. Everyone will stop for a hungry child. So I go with her. We sit on the curb together, watching the rain fall, huddled together to…

  • The Tale of Despereaux

    I have mice in my house. I suppose it’s inevitable. As beautiful as my house is, it is still right smack-dab in the middle of the woods. I am the only motel for many mice miles around. (Are mice miles a thing? Like, 5280 little mice steps? I feel like scientists should look into this.)…

  • Cairns

    They came from the south, it was said. Pilgrims from far off lands, from the edge of the sea to the valleys of the great deserts. Men saw them on the roads, children drew them water from the wells, and women gave them bread at their doors. They came with their heads covered and their…

  • Charlotte’s Web

    I live on a farm. Have I ever mentioned that before? I do. We have a milk cow, a bull, a rabbit, too many chickens, and ducks. I love ducks. They quack. And waddle. Hehe. I love everything about living on a farm. Baby animals, fresh milk and eggs, strawberries from our garden. I grew…

  • Counting Pebbles

    Long ago, between the forests of India and the waves and tides of the great ocean, there lived an honored Maharaja of splendid wealth and wisdom. Men and lords of men came to him from every corner of the world to ask for his advice, for his blessing, and for his gold. His advice he…

  • Mr. Popper’s Penguins

    Children’s books hold a special place in my heart. I love the fantastical stories they come up with, the whimsical, ridiculous ideas they present as ordinary, everyday facts. Ideas that would make an adult scoff and say, That would never happen, but would make a child sigh and say, I wish I had a penguin…