PHI BETA KAPPA JOURNAL REVIEW OFCZARS AND CZARINAS Review by Sama Imran Ilyas Although it is categorized under children’s nonfiction, I found myself completely engrossed by Czars and Czarinas, a new ibook by Deborah Prum (ΦBK, University of Connecticut, ) released earlier this year. Prum is an award-winning author and founder of Still Mountain Bookworks. […]
Phi Beta Kappa Review of CZARS AND CZARINAS Read More »
ALL ABOUT THAT BASSWRITING TIP Have you heard Meghan Trainor’s song All About That Bass? Catchy lyrics, great beat, terrific message. I know this song is about body image, but you can also extrapolate a couple of writing tips, such as: 1. Perfectionism is the enemy of creativity. If you try to sit down and instantly
Writing Tip: ALL ABOUT THAT BASS Read More »
EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES 0:00 / 0:00 Extenuating Circumstances This essay just aired on NPR-member station WVTF and appeared in the Washington Post. *** EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES Years ago, right before an end-of-the-term field trip, my son brought home a notice from his middle school. The body of the letter included the usual information: dates, cost, arrival
Extenuating Circumstances–Radio Essay Read More »
THE MONKEY AND THE BANANAA LESSON IN PROBLEM SOLVING A few years back, I read a study about monkeys and baskets. I don’t remember the names of the researchers or where they worked, but here’s the gist of what happened. They split monkeys into two groups then taught all of the monkeys how to open
The Monkey & The Banana: A Lesson in Problem Solving Read More »
WHAT KEEPS US TOGETHER 0:00 / 0:00 What Keeps Us Together My granddaughter Campbell is 2 and lives about 6,900 miles from Charlottesville. My grandmother, Benedetta, is 105 and lives in Connecticut, about 600 miles from here. I chat with Campbell by Skype and Facetime. I communicate with Benedetta by snail mail and telephone. Unfortunately,
RADIO–What Keeps Us Together Read More »
HOW TO CREATE LIVELY CHARACTERSWRITING TIP Photo Courtesy of Bob Dass I take improv classes at The Big Blue Door. Recently, we learned a game called, Present, Past, Future. The exercise gave me wonderful insight in how to create characters who hop off of the page. Here’s how it’s played. One person starts a scene
TIP: HOW TO CREAT LIVELY CHARACTERS Read More »
SMOKIN’ SCIENCE 0:00 / 0:00 Smokin' Science One day, my seventh grade physical sciences teacher announced mandatory participation in a science fair. Up to the day before the event, I hadn’t prepared. Hadn’t determined a research question. Hadn’t developed a hypothesis and definitely had not come to any conclusions. In my mind, the scientific method
RADIO–Smokin\’ Science Read More »
0:00 / 0:00 Caught in the Jaws of a Claw My exercise essay appeared in The Daily Progress today. See below: CAUGHT IN THE JAWS OF A CLAW Have you ever wanted to be someone you’re not? So, one day I was at the gym exercising on the calf-stretching machine. As you might
Caught in the Jaws of a Claw Read More »
THE SIXTY-FIVE DOLLAR QUESTION 0:00 / 0:00 The Sixty-Five Dollar Question This essay aired on this NPR-member station and appeared in The Washington Post. THE SIXTY-FIVE DOLLAR QUESTION The last time my folks visited, our whole family swapped tales around the dining table. Our topic? Marriage proposals: who proposed to whom and how. My husband, Bruce,
The Sixty-Five Dollar Question Read More »
MAKE A WISH A video has been making the rounds on Face Book. In it, a virtual Santa on a large screen greeted passengers in an airport lobby. As he scanned their tickets, he asked what they wanted for Christmas. People had differing reactions. The little kids stepped right up and boldly made requests. One
MAKE A WISH–Radio Essay Read More »