The Songbook Highway

Zombies in Love

This funny music video by my nephew Joseph Anderson features music by his band Bananas, with a guest appearance by the lovely Kayla. My niece Mary Anderson shot the video. She’s a studio art major at NYU. I’m such a proud auntie.

Joe Bananas

If you love zombies, check out these books [...]

Sharp by David Fitzpatrick

Sharp: A Memoir. William Morrow & Co, 2012. Print.

We lost 4 members of the Guilford High School Class of 84: David Ciardello, Richard Eaton, Ronnie Burns, and Lars Schulze. We almost lost David Fitzpatrick. David Fitzpatrick was our most beloved classmate. He was popular, but always nice to [...]

Back from ALA
I just got back from the annual American Library Association conference. It was in Anaheim, California which is the perfect locale for a summertime convention–no humidity and lots of hotels close to the arena.

Here are a few highlights from the convention. (I’ll write about the meetings and programs later.)

*I was [...]

I love John Irving!

Irving, John. In One Person: A Novel. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Whenever I embark upon a new John Irving novel, I feel like I should bid my friends farewell and post a “Gone Fishin’” sign on my front door. I waited all year for the new book [...]

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Maurice Sendak

It’s a very sad day today in Libraryland. Beloved author/illustrator Maurice Sendak passed away at the age of 82. I met him when I was about 9 years old. My mother and I waited for hours in the rain at a book signing event in New Haven. When [...]

Coming this August . .

The Bell Jar meets Hatchet meets Into the Wild . . .

Morel, Alex. Survive. New York, NY: Penguin (Razorbill), 2012. Print.
ISBN 9781595145109

Survive is one of the most emotionally intense YA novels I’ve read in a long time. It’s the story of a deeply [...]

Remembering

Moundlic, Charlotte, and Olivier Tallec. The Scar. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press, 2011. Print.

When I was little, my Uncle Brian (who was more like a big brother because he was only 8 years older than me and lived with us sometimes) was killed. When my mom and I stayed with my [...]

A (yarn) yarn

Barnett, Mac, and J Klassen. Extra Yarn. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2012. Print.

So far, this is my favorite picture book of the year because it makes me laugh. (The humor is a little off-kilter, which makes it even more fun.)

Extra Yarn is the story of a girl named Annabelle who [...]

New Haven Rock City

Guess what? Cracker is touring this summer with Bare Naked Ladies, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, and Blues Traveler—and they are going to be right here in Palm Beach County!*

Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven are my all-time favorite bands, of course, but I also really like Blues Traveler. John Popper [...]

Early Childhood Education: Growing Up

Back in the early 70’s, there weren’t many childcare options in my quaint New England town. Since my mother was a working single mom, I had to spend hours every day at a wretched place called The Happy Child Nursery School.

The owner was a morbidly obese, smelly [...]