Hello, Friends! I’m excited to return to blogging and hope my posts support you as you share the beauty and benefits of reading with children. As a friend of mine likes to say, “Life’s been Lifey,” over the past few months. While on vacation in July, I fell when I was taking a walk. That meant the end of our vacation (we missed the whole second week), an emergency trip to the hospital back home, and weeks of rehab. In September and again in December, I lost two loved ones, my sister and my nephew. I’ll always miss them. Then in November, when the doctor sent my husband for a heart catherization, they wound up performing quadruple bypass surgery the next morning. It was shocking, but also a true blessing because his main artery (the widow maker) was one of the blockages. Needless to say, blogging did not fit into my schedule. But, here we are in the third month of 2026, my husband is recuperating nicely and I am ready to take off my nurse’s cap and return to one of my favorite hobbies–writing.

For the most part, I’ll be focusing primarily on picture books. During my career, I used picture books in a variety of ways with learners from toddlers to graduate students. Their brevity and variety of genres and subjects make them an ideal way to promote both reading skills and a love of literature. Picture books often become like old friends, bringing joy whenever you interact with them. On a personal note, I hope to complete and publish a book that offers, not just the benefits of reading picture books to youngsters, but a easy protocol to establish a regular read-aloud practice in the home using picture books. Focusing on picture books will enable me to immerse myself in them as I work on my book.

As always, I hope you will share your feedback, suggestions, and questions with me as I once again delve into creating a blog that I hope will enable you to nurture literacy in your children. Please drop by on Monday, March 16, as I resume this blog.