Paper Cowboy

I am very much a native of the western suburbs of Chicago. My only homes have been in Downers Grove and Westmont, and I’ve always felt that suburbia was a Read more...

Posted by on May 1, 2015

Mouse Mansion

Each week, I feel privileged to share some beautiful, fun, and educational picture books with large groups of children in our storytimes here at the Westmont Library.  Lately, though, a Read more...

Posted by on April 3, 2015

Storytelling and The Matchbox Diary

I love made-up stories about worlds and people that can only exist in our imaginations. But I love real stories, too. Real stories about real people – especially people I Read more...

Posted by on December 12, 2014

What If?

What would happen if everyone on Earth stood as close to each other as they could and jumped, everyone on the ground landing at the same instant? From what height Read more...

Posted by on November 14, 2014

The Long Road

There is a stretch of road I travel often that has a tendency to put me into a sleepy stupor. I-57 from I-80 South to Champaign is beautiful in a Read more...

Posted by on October 15, 2014

Survival is Insufficient

Station Eleven. Taken from a Star Trek episode, they are painted on the lead wagon for the Traveling Symphony and Shakespeare Company. This motley group of actors and musicians roams Read more...

Posted by on September 19, 2014

Courage

Courage takes different forms – physical or emotional, extraordinary or simple. One might think a child’s act of courage to be much different than an adult’s, but that’s not necessarily Read more...

Posted by on September 8, 2014

The Last Policeman Trilogy

What would you do if you were 100% certain the world was going to end in six months? An asteroid is on a direct course to Earth and not only Read more...

Posted by on July 25, 2014

Forbidden Island

My brother Matt was a board-flipper. Perhaps you know someone like that.  You’re in the middle of playing a board game when the game turns sharply in your favor and Read more...

Posted by on June 27, 2014

Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Paperboy, a 2014 Newbery Honor Book, accomplished both. An 11 year-old boy growing up in Memphis in 1959 takes over his best friend’s paper route for a month. While throwing Read more...

Posted by on May 30, 2014

The Giver Quartet

            As both a book lover and a movie fan, I have much to look forward to in 2014 since quite a few book-to-movie adaptations Read more...

Posted by on February 7, 2014

What is Real?

It was Christmas Eve and I was four years old.  As I was sitting on the couch, my older sister handed me a present from under the tree.  I eagerly Read more...

Posted by on December 13, 2013

The Sixty-Eight Rooms

As a very young child, before I can even remember, I apparently caused trouble by playing in my older sister’s dollhouse.  Fortunately, I had a mother who understood the undeniable Read more...

Posted by on September 18, 2013

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