Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, or a duty. It should be offered as a gift.
— Kate DiCamillo
I couldn’t agree more with Kate DiCamillo. So let’s get offering.
These early years of independent reading are laying down foundations for our children. For a child to be immersed in a story and taken off to a faraway land will come naturally and be easy for some children, but many will need a helping hand or two. Continue reading
“It is through the power and music and magic of stories and poems that children can expand their own intellectual curiosity, develop the empathy and awareness that they will need to tackle the complexities of their own emotions, of the human condition in which they find themselves.”
— Michael Morpurgo
It’s been a while….but to kick off the new academic year I’m posting some books we enjoyed in the lead up to our Cornish summer holiday back in July. Continue reading
“To really instil a love of art, children need to be encouraged to have a go and be creative themselves.”
— James Mayhew
In the last three blogposts I have shown how James Mayhew brings life to museums in Katie’s Picture Show, and now in this final post I want to explore how he brings life to the artwork itself.
Mayhew’s story begins in the Classical world. Continue reading
I opened a book and in I strode
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.
I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion. Continue reading
Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.
— Martin Luther
With Lent well underway and Easter next week, I’m sharing an old post of some Easter books. Continue reading
Those who write for children are trying to arm them for the life ahead with everything we can find that is true. And perhaps, also, secretly, to arm adults against those necessary compromises and necessary heartbreaks that life involves: to remind them that there are and always will be great, sustaining truths to which we can return.
— Katherine Rundell, Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise
Rundell’s words are ringing in my ears. Continue reading
…the most startling thing about this wonderful tree was that hundreds of tapers glittered like stars in its dark branches, and the tree itself, shining with an inner light, invited the children to pick its blossoms and fruits.
– The Nutcracker, E.T.A. Hoffman
In the midst of the chaos of 2020 and all that it has brought us, Christmas is still coming. There is true light in the darkness. What joy! So let’s get preparing….
CLASSICALLY CURIOUS 