When I was a kid, I didn't really pay attention to the author of the books that I read. I knew that Louis Sachar had written Holes, simply because of all the attention that the book received, but I couldn't name anything else that he had written. I always sort of thought that Holes was a one-hit wonder; recently, scanning down a list of other books written by Sachar, I realized how wrong I was.
When I look down the complete book-list of a prolific children's book author like Louis Sachar, I am often amazed by the number of stories
Getting Crafty
by Angela Yorke April 30th, 2012 | Children's
As far as I can remember, television has been alternately used and vilified as a babysitting tool. Educational programs aside, which hardly anyone watches, you have to admit that it’s much easier to tell a child to watch or play something on-screen instead of finding other forms of distraction or amusement, if not for the concern of the long-term effects of screen-based interactions on cognitive function. That children “must” be constantly entertained is another matter of discussion, but either way, there’s certainly no harm in turning to arts and crafts, which shouldn’t be something found only at play-school.
Not only
Not only
Stan and Jan Berenstain
by Louise April 26th, 2012 | Authors, Children's
Stan and Jan Berenstain, the authors and illustrators of The Berenstain Bears, were quite the duo. The couple met in 1941 during their first day of class at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. Due to World War II, the couple was separated for a numberof years, but were reunited and married in 1946. In the early 1960s, they decided to write for young children, coming up with a family of bears as the main characters. Their first story, titled Freddy Bear's Spanking, wound up on the desk of Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss), who was
Children and the Environment
by Angela Yorke April 2nd, 2012 | Children's
Children tend to pick things up at a fast and generally unpredictable rate. For example, it’s difficult teaching them social niceties, yet they immediately pick up the choice words you used to describe the driver that cut you off on the way to the park that morning. Habits both good and bad tend to be inculcated at an early age, which makes it especially pertinent to educate children on the importance of living in an environmentally friendly manner through example and through literature.
Written and illustrated by Schim Schimmel, Dear Children of the Earth is written from the perspective of
Written and illustrated by Schim Schimmel, Dear Children of the Earth is written from the perspective of
Chronicles of Narnia
by Louise March 15th, 2012 | Children's, Classics, Fiction
Flipping through the channels on the TV in the exercise room, I came across a wintry scene that included four children and two talking beavers. I recognized at once that I was watching a scene from the film version of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, though I had never seen it before. Those weren't just any four kids: they were Lucy, Edmund, Peter, and Susan, the four Pevensie siblings, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. The fact that I was instantly able to recognize the scene is a testament both to
