I’ve suddenly seen several articles in newspapers and online discussing the value of a college education. Ron Wyden, one of Oregon’s most respected political figures, has called on colleges to provide undergraduates with statistics about employment and income prospects for various academic majors. In other words, if you’re going to invest all that money in [...]
Mating season is over. Pirate ate a big, fat mouse this morning. He didn’t take more than a minute to notice it and grab it. He must have been hungry—especially since he hasn’t eaten anything in a month. I wish people could do that. We could lock ourselves in a closet with a case of [...]
Barbara Williams of the Montgomery County Schools in Rockville, Maryland, wrote to me with a special request. Montgomery County schools are using my books as part of their elementary writing curriculum. Ms. Williams wrote to ask if I might use my blog to elaborate a topic that teachers feel needs special emphasis. The topic to [...]
I read an article in this Sunday’s NY Times about a glitch at Vassar’s admissions website. Here’s the LINK if you’d like to read it yourself. Apparently, acceptance notices were posted online. Students could visit the website to find out if they had been admitted. Back in my day they sent you a letter. You [...]
I’ve noticed a funny thing about writing over the years. When you’re stuck and find yourself with no idea of what you’re writing or what you’re supposed to be doing, you can always find dozens of excuses for not writing anything. You have to go shopping; you have to run a wash; you have to [...]
An Imaginary Conversation: Author: Let’s read! Books are wonderful. Read together with your family every evening! Child: My parents don’t read. We don’t have any books in our house. Author: That’s no problem. Your school library has plenty of good books that you can check out and read. Your school librarian will be happy to [...]
Picture Book Month begins tomorrow. I’ve been asked to start the celebration with a few words about why picture books are important to me. It was quite an honor to be asked and quite an opportunity as well to state why I believe picture books are so important. I learned to love books because of [...]
I have to confess to a guilty pleasure. I love reading biographies and autobiographies of rock stars. I think it’s because I lead such a normal, controlled life. I experience such vicarious pleasure reading about people who go totally berserk. Yes, they crash and burn in the end. But what a ride! Right now I’m [...]
Good heavens! I just realized it’s been ages since I’ve posted anything on my blog. No excuses. Blame it on the last days of summer. It got started late here in Oregon. We didn’t have good weather until August. When the weather is good, you want to be outside in the sunshine because you know [...]
One of the most exciting parts about being an author is that your life is full of surprises. Your words have wings. You never really know where your books are going, who is reading them, and whose lives they are changing. In 1978 I published a picture book with Pantheon called Why Worry? It was [...]
