I was interested in research that what preschoolers watch, and how their parents guide them, can lead to less violence and better social skills. As a grandparent and writer, I believe that our children are formed by how we relate to them, including reading with them.
In the story for children, A Tree for Max, the King of the Trees talks with all the trees of the forest. But how can that be possible? Can trees really communicate?
“I have always wanted to fly.” Thus Keren, a nine-year-old female Canaan dog who loves to tell stories (some are true), opens Dogged Flight. Keren tells the secret of how she realised her puppyhood dream of flying with the birds.
In the State of the Union, the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States, was unable to deal with the issue threatening the future of humanity: "The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change." I seek to understand how our political system is unable to act on our behalf. As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and he is us."
We humans seem to become part of a landscape wherever we are planted, to wear it like a garment or a skin, to possess, and be possessed by the rocks and the trees of our places, and it is incredible to think that we cannot forever inhabit our land or our place.
It seems natural for a parent or grandparent to give things to a child. But what gifts will have a lasting impact? The most valuable gift may not be a thing, but a relationship, a value, a skill, or an outlook. I try to create books that can help build those valuable gifts.
Yesterday was the kind of warm sunny day in early December that feels like fall, not winter. Walking with my dog, Keren, past a parochial primary school playground at recess. Kids wrestling, showing off, swooping around in a ball game, chirping and shouting, making playground noises—like a flock of birds. I passed on, down the hill, and then turned back to see what the sudden rise in noise and pitch was all about.
PhotoLuminations, an imprint of New Technology Publishing, announces the
publication of A Tree for Max, an illustrated fable for children in digital format.
Can children learn to be creative in a world of e-readers? Prehistoric children did not run amuck; they went to 'school' in caves where they had art and writing lessons, according to a conference on the Archeology of Childhood.
Stories can be told in words or in pictures, but come to life when the reader can imagine a world created in words, and see images that relate to a physical reality as well as a fabulous environment. Such a story knows no limits. I call them "fables."