My son’s book collection is full of classics, like the works of Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. He has a number of Caldecott and Newbery Award winners. Sometimes, however, it’s fun to find books that may be just shy of top-tier classics, yet still have something to recommend them. Often, these books, especially if they’re […]
Unless you’ve been completely out of touch with lesbian culture in the past week (and if you are, you probably aren’t reading this blog), you’ll know that tonight is the premiere of Bravo’s new docudrama, Workout, starring Hollywood fitness trainer and out lesbian Jackie Warner. If you want more of the inside scoop, you can
A dog that moos? Norman the puppy doesn’t know why. He was just Born Different. This great new awareness campaign from the Denver-based Gill Foundation uses a light touch to get people thinking about the nature of sexual orientation. While the ads are aimed at adults, kids old enough to understand what sexual orientation is
My son, like most preschoolers I know, goes through phases with his book, CD, and video interests. For the past few days, his video of choice has been Sesame Street’s Learning About Letters. I love this video. I was part of the first generation of children to grow up with Sesame Street, and many of
Here’s an easy activity idea: When grandparents, other relatives, or close friends come for a visit, videotape them reading stories to your child. You’ll soon compile a nice alternative to commercial videos for those times when your child insists on watching something. It’s a nice way to keep a family connection even when relatives live
Last week, I launched the beta test of Mombian Books, a place where we can share recommendations of good books for and about our families. Because it’s a group effort, it will reflect a wider variety of books and viewpoints than a list compiled by one person. I’ve just created some Mombian Books badges you
I’m very excited to announce the beta launch of Mombian Books, a place for people in LGBT families to share book ideas. I’ve found that although there are lots of LGBT-family booklists around, they tend to repeat many of the same books (Heather Has Two Mommies, Daddy’s Roommate, etc.), with maybe a few unique ones
I don’t usually do such materialistic posts, but Amazon.com has a few sales going on right now that may be of interest. (My mom’s an inveterate bargain hunter; you can blame it on her.) Eligible books are 4-for-3 (lowest price one is free), including children’s books from Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, and others, as well
Frederick is a book that should be on every preschooler’s shelf. A Caldecott award winner, it’s the charming tale of a mouse with a talent for words, whose contribution to his community is through his stories. It celebrates imagination and being different. The one criticism I’ve heard about the book is that Frederick is too
Google has released version 4 of their amazing 3D mapping software, Google Earth. If you haven’t played around with it, I highly recommend giving it a try, especially if you have kids who are learning geography. “Fly” around the earth and see both satellite views and road maps. Overlay landmarks and geographic features. See 3D
