All posts written by Laura
A Chapter Book for Black History Month

A Chapter Book for Black History Month

Have you heard of Ida B. Wells? I hadn’t. I found Discovering History’s Heroes: Ida B. Wells, Fighter for Justice, by Diane Bailey, in the kids’ biography section of our library. 

YA Historical Fiction

YA Historical Fiction

I’ve always enjoyed historical fiction, but I haven’t read much YA historical fiction. My YA reading tends towards fantasy and futuristic/dystopian literature.

Recently, my YA book club at the library had a planning session to lay out the next twelve month’s worth of reading. It was a super satisfying evening that resulted in a list of books we’d be reading for the coming year, but of course, we couldn’t read all of the books that were suggested as possibilities.

I took home one of the books that didn’t make the list, a historical fiction title, and I enjoyed it so much. So I found another YA historical fiction title and read that one, too. Well, I listened to it.

What We’re Reading for Black History Month

What We’re Reading for Black History Month

It’s that time of year again. If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll remember my previous posts on what to read for Black History Month. You can find my 2018 post here, and here’s 2019. This year, I have four picture books with fantastic illustrations, all with their own distinct flavor.

What Happens When You Give Up Netflix and Amazon Prime

What Happens When You Give Up Netflix and Amazon Prime

It has been over five months since we gave up Amazon Prime and Netflix.

The rapidly escalating content on Netflix was leaving the adults in our family feeling gross after watching our shows, and we squirmed at the content the kids kept finding.

There were some great shows, but our tweens kept finding stuff that was rated for their age, but was full of bigger kid content that we weren’t ready to expose them to, at least not on the screen. I’d much rather have my kids read about something than watch it and have everything spelled out for them.

Amazon Prime? I was sick of paying to shop at a specific store, especially one that was invading my privacy and was my first choice when I was shopping or just looking for something. With the ease of ordering, sometimes, I clicked purchase before I even realized what had happened.

An 1860’s Little Boy’s Jacket

An 1860’s Little Boy’s Jacket

I made this jacket using what I’ve learned so far about historical patterns and techniques and I think I did a pretty good job of imitating my inspiration pic. I also know there’s a lot I don’t know, so I probably messed up in ways I’m not even aware of, and for that, I pray those who know better will forgive me.

My little guy, who is four, needed a warm jacket, 1860’s style, for the Victorian Strolls we’d be attending as a family in our area.