Free Books for Kids!

The District of Columbia Public Library newsletter just popped up in my in-box, and I was thrilled to see that DC has a “Books from Birth” program. Early childhood literacy is a crucial building block for later education and parent/child bonding.

The Books from Birth program is open to all children under the age of five who live in Washington, D.C. All enrolled children receive a free book in the mail each month from birth until they turn five.
https://www.dclibrary.org/using-the-library/books-birth

DC partners with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. According to their website, the program has provided free books for 1 in 10 children under the age of 5 in the U.S. Head to the Imagination Library website to see if you can register your child.

Your state may also have a state program. Google “your state + free books for kids” to get a list of links. Many of them are partnered with Imagination Library but some provide books through other education, private, or health-based grants.

PJ Library provides free books to Jewish Children and their families. You can sign up on their website for books that center Jewish values and culture. PJ Library is specifically for younger children but children 8.5 to 13 can enjoy middle-grade books through PJ Our Way.

Poetry Friday: Empty Nesting

Purchase at your local independent bookstore or through my Bookshop link.

It’s been a long time since I spoke about mothering. Mommy blogs as a genre seem to satisfy their purpose once a child has become an adult. And yet, I am still a mother. With two sons, I’ve experienced everything twice. They each left for college but came back for holidays and vacations. Then they each finished college and set up nests of their own.

This last time handed me a gut punch I wasn’t really expecting. After all, we had already navigated long stretches away from each other, serious girlfriends, a pandemic separation (when we all agreed they’d be better with Dad in Maine then with me in NYC), and weekly phone calls that became more occasional. I’ve learned I cannot control their day-to-day health and safety (much less my own). I understand not only that I’ve given them all I could, but also, that they are fine humans whom I trust completely.

However, I had those moments, maybe you’ve had them too, where you look at the young man before you, and perhaps the light shifts, and you see a flicker of them as the small child they once were. And then it’s gone.

This poem from Laura Foley in the poetry anthology THE PATH TO KINDNESS: POEMS OF CONNECTION AND JOY (p.76 Edited by James Crews, Storey Publishing, 2022) captures my experience.

Laura Foley
A PERFECT ARC
I remember the first time he dove.
He was five and we were at a swimming pool
and I said: you tip your head down as you are going in,
while your feet go up.

And then his lithe little body did it exactly right,
a perfect dive, sliding downward, arcing without a wave,
and I just stood
amazed and without words
as his blond head came up again
and today

I watched him for the longest time as he walked
firm and upright along the street,
with backpack, guitar, all he needs,
blossoming outward in a perfect arc,
a graceful turning
away from me.

Summer Reading TBR

With the humidity, it feels as if it’s over 90ºF here in the DMV. So find yourself some AC, a fan, and a cold glass of lemonade and get busy reading some phenomenal books. (I’m hoping that my students read at least one this summer!)

Here are some middle-grade and YA that I’ve loved over the past few weeks. If there’s a date on it, that means it’s an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy). A few of those won’t be out for purchase until the fall.

Here’s my To Be Read (TBR) pile. It keeps getting bigger, but I’m trying to use the library too. Some came out last year and some are brand new. If you read any, leave me a message and tell me what you thought.

Happy Reading!