Historically Speaking

Thirteen years ago today an immeasurable tragedy occurred in our country. We all came away changed and scarred. Amidst all the horror of that day were the heroics of the first responders and the SAR workers. I heard their stories while I worked on Sniffer Dogs: How Dogs (and Their Noses) Save the World . It was an honor to speak to Shirley Hammond about her time at Ground Zero with her dog, Sunny. A volunteer, Shirley went without question. I heard about Sunny's discovery of a fallen firefighter and his confusion of how to alert to a deceased person after being trained as a live-find dog. I also heard about brave little Sage, a border collie, who took part in her very first deployment at the Pentagon that day. She was the one who located the body of the terrorist who flew the plane into the Pentagon. On this day of remembering I encourage you all to set aside a few dollars to contribute to the National Search Dog Foundation and the Sage Foundation for Dogs Who Serve ....

If you haven't read The Little Prince today is the day! Take the book outside to a quiet picnic table or rock by a lake and enjoy!  The Morgan Library recently held an exhibit of The Little Prince. It showed all of the revisions that went in to the writing and the illustrations. Seeing the author's process was fascinating.  I knew I loved the book, (my childhood copy sits on desk's bookshelf!) but that exhibit made me love it even more. I wanted to bottle it all up and take it home so that I could savor it. Unfortunately, the Morgan did not publish a guide to the exhibit.   That brings me to Peter Sis ' new book -- The Pilot and The Little Prince.     NPR did a fabulous interview with Peter Sis about the book, making me want to read it all the more. The life of aviator/author Antoine de Saint-Exupery is intriguing. I am thrilled that Sis took up the subject!  Please let me know how you like the books. I have a feeling they will be equally u...

 Abandoned Hudson Valley

Yes, I finally did it. I joined a book club! I was in a fantastic mother/daughter book club when my daughter was younger. We had some great discussion, but it's been awhile.  That isn't to say I haven't had book discussions. Oh, I've had plenty!  And good ones!  And not so good ones! As the Regional Advisor for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Eastern NY region I co-host a monthly meeting. We include a short book discussion at each meeting. But, it's short and we always find that many folks haven't read the book yet. Recently we discussed The Book Thief. Our plan was to hold the discussion so that we could include a conversation about the movie as well. That didn't happen. The movie came and went so quickly that  many of us were unable to get to see it - including me!  By the time I did see it I was ready to talk about it again -- but with who? As my luck would have it a book group was meeting at my church that month and ...

It was fun to see Google celebrate British paleontologist, Mary Anning today on her 215th birthday! My first encounter with this historic woman was through Jeannine Atkins picture book, Mary Annng and the Sea Dragon . Jeannine had traveled to Lyme Regis in England where Mary was born. She walked along the beach where 11-year-old Mary found a 17-foot fossil that made her famous. Jeanine captures Mary so beautifully in this book, which is why it was the Society of School  Librarians International 2000 honor book.  It is a great addition to a classroom library and fits in well with Common Core standards!

Author and school visit specialist, Alexis O’Neill  is here today to talk about her latest award-winning book, The Kite That Bridged Two Nations.  Alexis, this is a great nonfiction picture book that introduces readers to a historic kite contest and Homan Walsh, who dreamed of flying his kite across the wide Niagara. Can you tell us about the research that went in to writing this book? Nancy – thanks for your invitation to share! For pleasure years ago, I had read David McCullough’s book, The Great Bridge , about John A. Roebling’s building of the Brooklyn Bridge. McCullough mentioned Homan Walsh and the kite flying contest because Roebling finished the Niagara Suspension Bridge project when the original engineer left. When someone suggested to me that that incident might make a good kids book, my research began. Internet. I searched Wikipedia to get overviews of the event, people and places; collect key words and images; and examine biblio...

Here are some great reads to share with the young people in your life on this Holocaust Remembrance Day.