Blog

Ten years ago, following my assemblies at a rural school in California, I was asked to spend an hour with a small group of Migrant students. They ranged widely in ages and still spoke only Spanish. The idea was for them to tell me about, then write

Wishing warm snuggly layers of clothing for everyone facing the brunt of winter. Even parts of Mexico, from where I just returned, were chilly, but the bright colors and hot cups of champurrado (corn and chocolate drink) warmed the soul. Last month, I described writing “side-by-side” with others. Today

Two-year olds can inspire a mom or dad to learn what’s possible—like make lunch, resolve a bathroom emergency and define “is” all at once. By the time I was a dad, I was a jazz drummer and an author. But it was my two-year old who inspired

National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15-Oct. 15. Picture books and creative writing add focus for all concerned. Here’s a round-up from Read Brightly of 15 picture books to celebrate the theme. The books include contemporary stories from around the Americas, folktales and even introductions to Frida Kahlo and

See if you can answer this two-part word quiz: Which word originated in South Asia: picture, teacher, jungle or chocolate? Which word originated in South Africa: snack, shack, trek, or steak? (Answers below.) I thought of these questions to kick off a recent workshop. It was part

As this year like no other finally lurches toward an end, I want to take a moment to appreciate my locale. Sonoma County, roughly an hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge, boasts natural beauty, state parks, diversity, and a tolerant vibe of city and country folk

Tell me quickly the more agreeable topic: children’s books or presidential elections? This month, I am thrilled to appear on the cover of Story Monsters Ink, a digital children’s literature publication distributed to schools and libraries across the country. The cover (above) contains zippy insect drawings by

Choosing just the right names for your story’s characters sounds like it would be easy enough. Usually, though, it isn’t, at least not for me. In an interview for the National Association for Music Education, the columnist/ editor Tom Amoriello questioned me about that exact challenge. To