The Marvelous Thing That Came From a Spring: The Accidental Invention of the Toy That Swept the Nation This book, written and illustrated by Gilbert Ford, is a delightful telling of how Richard James was inspired to create the Slinky toy. A mechanical engineer tasked with finding a way to cushion delicate machines aboard…
“Magetsi a mphepo,” he whispered. I will build electric wind. I live a life of comfort in my upper middle class American home. I don’t worry about things like famines or poor sanitation. When I’m hungry I go to the store to buy whatever I want from the thousands of options. I eat,…
Ali Pasha, the war hero, lived a life of quiet anonymity for 50 years. But in 1968, he was discovered and in 1986, his fame grew even more widespread. The headline read, “A Great War Survivor of Shot and Shell.” Who is Ali Pasha, you may be wondering. Well, to learn Ali’s story, we must…
When I wrote about the Goodbye Christopher Robin movie and the story behind A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books, I found out that the books were inspired by a real bear. Winnipeg was an American black bear who traveled from Canada to England and ended up living in the London Zoo. Recently I found a few books…
Have you heard the legend of the ravens at the Tower of London? If the ravens ever leave, the tower will crumble to dust and great tragedy will befall the people of England. What is a raven? Basically, a raven is a large black bird. They are in the same class as crows (the Corvus…
Beverly Cleary is a well-known, prolific author of books for children. Her career spanned more than 50 years and her books have been loved by generations upon generations of kids. But have you ever wondered what Beverly Cleary’s own childhood was like? Thankfully Beverly penned two memoirs about her life prior to her publishing success…
I will never be a student of battle tactics, never really interested in the nitty gritty details of exactly which way a battle had unfolded, minute by minute, decision by decision. I am, however, very interested in the experiences and stories of the individual people who were there. The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at…
Are there any other thesaurus lovers out there? I have been using thesauruses (thesauri is the preferred plural of the author but thesauruses is definitely more fun to say!) for many, many years. When I’m writing something, I want to use the perfect word to get my meaning across. Or sometimes I just need to…
“You can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family.” Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird. The other thing you can’t choose is your nickname! Welcome to Day 4 of 20 Days of Me… What’s your nickname? My name is Mouse. This name was given to me in junior high by…
See the world as a data collector Stefanie Posavec and Giorgia Lupi are visual designers who both loved drawing, specifically drawing with data. In the introduction, they say that Dear Data was concieved as a “personal documentary” and that data can be used to become more humane and to connect with ourselves and others on…
Did you know that the Los Angeles Central Library suffered a devastating fire in 1986? Me neither! I learned all about the largest library fire in the United States and so much more about the history and workings of a large city library from Susan Orlean’s book, The Library Book. (You may remember when I…
If you’ve never heard of Snowflake Bentley, then I’ve got a treat for you! Wilson Bentley was an amazingly passionate man who dedicated his life to photographing microscopic snowflakes. Keep reading to find out more… Which came first, the snow or the passion? Wilson Alwyn Bentley was born on February 9, 1865, in Jericho, Vermont. …