Explore every episode of the podcast Bright Wings: Children’s Books to Make the Heart Soar
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rescuing Books, With Jill Morgan at Purple House Press | 17 Jul 2024 | 00:49:20 | |
What if some of the best titles being published are not new, but OLD? Join Charity's conversation with Jill Morgan from Purple House Press. Charity shares her joy at discovering how a beloved childhood picture book is back in print! Jill shares stories from 20 years of rescuing books--stories about author relationships, the practicalities of bringing back favorites, and the community feeling built around the books we want appreciated for generations.
Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Editing for Glory: A Conversation With Vivian Dudro, Senior Editor Ignatius Press | 09 Jul 2024 | 00:42:07 | |
Vivian Dudro, senior editor at Ignatius Press, joins Charity to talk about Catholic book publishing. Vivian discusses publishing works that allow children and teens to connect their lives to the deepest truths of Christ's presence. How can "wholesome" literature depict the Real? Is it necessary for Christian books to be well-written, or is it enough for them to be church-y? Join Charity and Vivian as they explore these questions. Enjoy Vivian's recommendations on the books currently exciting interest at Ignatius Press, works that are "coming soon," and her treasure trove of unique classic book recommendations.
Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Stories for Strong Boys With Dr. William Hamant | 01 May 2023 | 01:06:27 | |
Everyone is happy to promote "girl power," and we did our own version of that theme in Episode 18: Stories for Strong Girls. But what about our boys? Is there something distinctive about being a boy? What is good about being a boy? Dr. William Hamant joins Charity to discuss what is positive and distinctive about masculinity. He reflects upon what masculinity reveals about what it means to be human. Dr. Hamant supports his insights with literature and poetry and wise experience.
Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of Wildwood by Colin Meloy | 18 Apr 2023 | 00:12:40 | |
Wildwood, the first in a trilogy by Colin Meloy, is praised by Trenton Lee Stewart. It is also 541 pages! Could this book be the start of the next greatest series for your child?! It is long and has sequels...could this be just the thing for my voracious readers? Listen and discover along with Charity what this book is like--do it's characters have any character? Do they discover where they're from? Where they are going? Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Gordon Korman: An Author To Read or Not? | 03 Apr 2023 | 00:22:20 | |
Can an author as prolific as Gordon Korman really generate books of value? After reading a dozen Gordon Korman books (sample size is 10% ladies and gentleman!) Charity delivers the answers and makes her recommendations. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Innocence: A Perspective for Intelligent Reading | 21 Mar 2023 | 00:21:07 | |
Have you ever returned to a beloved children' book as an adult and found the content unnerving? Charity introduces the topic of cynicism as a perspective that shapes what we are able to see, a stance that conditions our vision, a judgement that conditions our choices. Charity introduces an excellent essay by Anna Kaladish Reynolds regarding cynicism, a critical reading of Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully. Reynold's essay proposes that the innocence available in picture books like Mirette On the High Wire may help us to learn a wisdom that is greater than any that cynicism can offer to us. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of Beauty by Robin McKinley AND Snow and Rose by Emily Winfield Martin | 07 Mar 2023 | 00:26:36 | |
Ready for a couple of the most satisfying stories you've heard in a while? Charity reviews Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley and Snow and Rose by Emily Winfield Martin. If you enjoy fairy tales--or if you simply enjoy a story with both action and reflection--join Charity as she explores the value of these two novel-length retellings. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Protecting or Equipping?: A Literary Examen for the Best Kind of Parent | 13 Feb 2023 | 00:15:43 | |
Do you know what discernment is? Can we examine what motivates our literary choices for our children? In this podcast Charity wonders what motivates our literary decision-making: Does a desire to protect motivate? Does fear of harm predominate in our decision-making? Is our end goal to equip our children? Are we convinced that the good is stronger and more pleasing than evil? Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| World War II Books: Best Picture Books and Novels | 24 Jan 2023 | 00:34:56 | |
Were you ever obsessed with WWII fiction and stories as a child? Do you have a child who is really into stories from this era? Why the fascination?! Is there something weird about this interest? Charity unpacks what is vital to understanding the value of books about World War II. Children appreciate this time because good and evil are clear and there are high stakes and choices to make. Children like this era because hard moral choices and suffering are contexualized by singular and personal characters. Best of all, literature set in this era often affirms that "a light has shown in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it." Charity affirms the unusually high quality of WWII literature as a genre and prizes it for its ability to allow children opportunities for self-reflection. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of Masterminds Series by Gordon Korman | 10 Jan 2023 | 00:12:57 | |
As part of an ongoing initiative Charity reviews books to save you time and teach you how to know a good book when you see it! Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| A Conversation on Beauty, Ugliness, and Illustrations | 07 Dec 2022 | 00:53:41 | |
Join Charity's conversation with Jennifer Kehoe as they discuss children's book illustrations. Why is it important that illustrations are beautiful? What are some of the features that help us recognize whether something is beautiful or not? What are ingredients of artisianship that make for to great illustrations? When it comes to children's books Charity and Jennifer wonder if "ugly" has to equal "funny"? They also discuss if every book must be beautiful. Best of all, Jennifer names many excellent illustrator/artists who can provide your children with a feast of beauty. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| How Can I Support Bright Wings? | 29 Nov 2022 | 00:06:26 | |
Today, I talk with transparency about the finances of Bright Wings: Children's Books. I love producing this podcast and I consider myself blessed to think and read and have the desire to share ideas about children's literature with you. Being able to do this is incredibly rich. But, ironically right now, Bright Wings is an expensive hobby of mine and operates in the red. I wonder if you could donate $5-$10 today? Or, perhaps you'd rather help and support this mission by rating and reviewing Bright Wings on your listening platform? These are ways to help and encourage me. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of The Boy Knight of Reims, by Eloise Lownsbery | 12 Jun 2024 | 00:16:19 | |
If you love historical fiction, Charity has found a rare gem for you! What was it like to live in a walled Medieval town? What was it like to live in the age of Gothic cathedral-building? How is family, work, worship, and community structured? What makes life meaningful and exciting? Meet Jean d'Orbais and his family whose life and work has been tied to the great cathedral of Reims for centuries! Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Middle Ages, Fact and Fiction, With Dr. Grace Hamman | 11 Nov 2022 | 00:56:58 | |
Dr. Grace Hamman from Old Books With Grace joins Charity to take a closer look at the Middle Ages. Charity asks Grace what made her fall in love with this era. Charity also asks, "Did women write/illustrate books? What were some of the achievements of the Medieval period? How hard did peasants work? How are hospitals an especially Medieval achievement? Were manners invented in the Middle Ages?" They talk about how to see the era with "texture," to see the good and bad of this time, without imposing our own viewpoint. Do our children's books on the Middle Ages simply insert a modern person into a archaic situation--and it feels like a slap!? Or does our fiction help us enter the Medieval world and the medieval mind and body?
Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| S.D. Smith Interview, New Jack Zulu Book | 10 Oct 2022 | 00:47:52 | |
Sam Smith, better known as S. D. Smith, the author of the beloved Green Ember Series tells us the Big News! He is collaborating with his son J.C Smith on a new series, beginning with Jack Zulu and the Waylander's Key. If you loved the strange mix of rabbits with swords, you will love the half-African, half-Appalachian Jack Zulu. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| A Closer Look at Fairy Tales With Dr. Marina Warner | 21 Sep 2022 | 00:32:20 | |
Have you ever wondered if fairy tales have a deeper meaning? Where in the world have they come from? From what countries? From what places in the human heart? Join the conversation with Dr. Marina Warner (author of Once Upon A Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale) and Charity Hill as they discuss these questions and also why fairy tales are, wonderfully, women's tales! Dr. Warner gives new insights regarding the tale "Donkey Skin" and "Rapunzel." They discuss fairy tales and the problem of evil, Tolkein's notion of euchatastrophe, and why fairy tales end happily. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 30: Best Books About Dogs | 29 Aug 2022 | 00:25:20 | |
Do you have a dog? To paraphrase C. S. Lewis, if you love anything--even a dog--there is hope for you! If you love anything, even a dog, you are susceptible to encounters with others and to awareness of your human condition. Charity argues that you are more likely to live with joy, appreciate embodiment, and understand mortality. And, of course, Charity offers us books to celebrate these themes that dogs shed (light?...fur?) on. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 29: Back-To-School Picture Books | 17 Aug 2022 | 00:11:26 | |
In this quick episode, Charity notices that the start of new school year is more full of possibility and opportunity for our children than New Year's is for adults. Charity suggests four books to celebrate the return to school, with a title especially for homeschooling families. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Family Summer Seminars 2022 | 26 May 2022 | 00:04:39 | |
We are delighted to be reading these books with you and your family during the weeks of summer! These books are worth reading and reflecting on, giving us opportunities to have meaningful conversations with our children. All six of the selected books share two common themes. They all take place around water, either the sea or a river. And, in all six of the books, the characters develop a richer identity, a deeper character through adventure. Please join one…or all three…of the book discussions! If you'd like to attend all three, you'll need to register for each seminar separately. The conversation with the 5-10 year-olds will last between 15-20 minutes. The seminar with the children who are 10+ will last 45-50 minutes. These discussions will run consecutively, using the same link.
FAMILY SEMINAR DATES: June 7 at 1:30 PM CST: The Relationship Between Adventure and Identity · Ages 5-10. Picture Book: Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe by Vera Williams · Ages 10+. Middle Grade: Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry Register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
June 21 at 1:30 PM CST: The Adventure of Acceptance · Ages 5-10. Picture Book: Grandma Summer by Harley Jessup · Ages 10+. Middle Grade: Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk Register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. July 12 at 1:30 PM CST: Family Capacitates for Adventure · Ages 5-10. Picture Book: The Raft by Jim LaMarche · Ages 10+. Middle Grade: The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart Register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. GUIDELINES So that we can have the best discussion, Bright Wings requires participants to: · Read the book. Try to have a copy in your hands during our conversation. · Adults, you should attend with a child. Children, you must attend with an adult. (This is legally necessary for Bright Wings.) We also intend this to be a family event. · Have an opinion about what you’ve read. · Be curious · Come appropriately dressed, as if going out to lunch with a grandparent. · You must keep your camera on. · Please use a family name (e.g. Johnson, Brown) to identify yourself on Zoom, so that I can address you by name. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 28: Shakespeare + Kids? | 09 May 2022 | 00:22:44 | |
Can you mix Shakespeare and kids? When was the last time you read or watched the Bard? Do you have a community of readers to read Shakepeare with? to read Shakespeare for? Can you create a community of Shakespeare appreciators with your children? Charity dives into quality retellings of William Shakespeare which are suitable for children, especially the <13 population. Charity argues that retellings are analogous to re-stagings. She recommends resources to help us respond to "Mommy, what is Hamlet about?" We are enriched by encountering Shakespeare and cannot exhaust his treasury by beginning early. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of The Giver by Lois Lowry | 25 Apr 2022 | 00:13:31 | |
As part of an on-going initiative, Charity Hill reviews children's books. Here, she reviews The Giver by Lois Lowry, the Newbery Winner in 1994. Charity traces the plot from its utopian presentation through Jonas' discovery of his community's dystopianism, to Jonas' dramatic escape. Charity proposes that this story can instigate marvelous questions with our children where we wonder "What is justice?" "What good must I do?" "What is the best way to organize a just society?" and "How far must I go in order to resist evil?" Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| An Ethical Review of KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES Series | 11 Apr 2022 | 00:20:42 | |
There is an ethical elephant in the room! There is a lot more to The Keeper series than waht usually gets talked about. Charity offers us Sydney Rosenberger's thoughtful and friendly critique of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. Rosenberger, a children's librarian, contacted Charity after Charity reviewed the first book of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series and shows us that there is much more that we need to talk about. Listen and discover the ethical and bioethical issues which are raised and never answered in the series. Learn how to "unpack the ethics" of Sophie's cloned existence. This podcast/essay makes room for you and your child to discuss "Is it ever okay to treat a person as an object? What if its for a good reason? What if the person consents later to being used?" This essay/podcast gives you the inside scoop on the Keeper Series without having to read thousands(!) of pages. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of The Wild Robot by Peter Brown | 04 Apr 2022 | 00:16:59 | |
As part of an ongoing initiative, Charity Hill reviews books. In this episode, Charity review's Peter Brown's The Wild Robot. Charity explains what makes this imaginative and creative book so fascinating. She asks us to think about and talk to our children about the larger questions framing the story: What is the difference between living and non-living things? What is the difference between thinking and computing? Do humans have more in common with robots or with nature? Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Read Fantasy? | 28 Mar 2024 | 00:39:34 | |
Do your kids read fantasy? What do you think of magic? Is magic good? Bad? Join Charity as she considers why fantasy is such an important category of fiction to read! Perhaps, like Aslan, fantasy is "not safe, but good." Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger | 22 Mar 2022 | 00:10:33 | |
As part of an ongoing initiative, Charity Hill reviews children's books. In this episode, Charity reviews Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities, Book 1. Charity considers what makes this 500-page middle grade novel such a page turner. What drives such a long book forward, in the eyes of the 10-year olds who read it? Does it have valuable language, characterization, and action? Listen to discover and decide whether you think Keeper of the Lost Cities is a book worth reading. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 27: The Gift of the Irish: Favorite Tales for Every Age | 01 Mar 2022 | 00:31:05 | |
Leprechauns are fun, but is there more to Irish literature?! Diving into our Irish inheritance, Charity Hill offers insight into Irish literature. She suggests that what makes Irish literature distinctive is the way it navigates paradoxes. Charity uses Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role to identify characteristics of Irish literature. Because literature emerges from cultural context, Charity notices how the literature reflects the paradoxes of pagan and Christian Ireland: high/low, darkness/light. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 26: Favorite Winter Picture Books, Old and New | 15 Feb 2022 | 00:29:58 | |
Charity Hill and Amanda Knapp share the joy of winter-themed picture books both classic and new. They wonder why "cosy" goes so well with "cold"? They explore the Danish concept of hygge (HOO-gah) --comfort and coziness, reflection and rest. Charity and Amanda notice that book-reading in winter becomes a particular pleasure. They swap favorite stories that praise the delights of winter chill and winter comforts. See below for 32 titles of book list. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of Finding Langston and Leaving Lymon by Lesa Cline-Ransome | 08 Feb 2022 | 00:21:18 | |
As part of an ongoing initiative, Charity Hill reviews children's books. In this episode, Charity reviews two novels by Lesa Cline Ransome: Finding Langston and Leaving Lymon, which concern two different boys whose families move from South to North in the Great Migration. Charity appreciates Cline Ransom's handling of Langston's pivotal questions "Who am I?" and "Where have I come from?" Poetry and community reground and re-situate the lonesome Langston in his identity. Leaving Lymon concerns the fate of Langston's bully, Lymon. What forces are at work in forming Lymon's negativity? Can extended family, community fellowship, and music give Lymon the stability he needs to move forward? Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 25: Caring for Words With Jenny Richeson, SLP | 26 Jan 2022 | 00:54:44 | |
Join the conversation with Jenny Richeson, CCC/SLP (see @thespeechpoet) and discover what a speech-language pathologist does. What is Jenny's connection between her work as a SLP and the poetry she creates? What does reading ability have to do with self-regulation? Consider with us how education is more formation than information. And hear Charity's story of why speech therapy was more pivotal to her than being in the gifted program. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 24: Contemporary Middle Grade Fiction With Claire Swinarski | 13 Jan 2022 | 00:58:21 | |
Join the conversation with author Claire Swinarski as we discuss how it is possible to write realistic, contemporary middle grade fiction--with a mainstream publisher--and still have content that points readers to truth and goodness. Claire shares how important it is to tackle tough topics with middle schoolers in a hopeful, virtuous, and non-boring way. We discuss What Happens Next and The Kate In Between. We consider the advantages of parenting in a style to either protect or to equip our children with their reading. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 23: Favorite Christmas Picture Books, 2021 | 07 Dec 2021 | 00:47:00 | |
Is there any Season with more marvelous picture books?! Let's discover a few more together! Join the conversation with Amanda Knapp and Charity Hill as they swap Christmas picture book favorites. Do Charity and Amanda feel guilty about the Christmas + presents connection? What does Charity think about the gift-giving and "the true meaning of Christmas"? Find new and meaningful books to to engage your family this Christmas season.
Enjoy this short video made for Well-Read Mom in 2020--I tell you about a few more heartfelt favorites! (You many want to watch it on 1.25 speed ;) Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 22: Best Early Readers and Beginning Chapter Books | 19 Nov 2021 | 00:39:43 | |
What kind of books are we looking for when our child first learns to read? First, Charity demystifies some of the lingo surrounding early readers. (What are early readers? WHY early readers? What are transitional books? ) Charity will tell you what she really thinks about Junie B. Jones, Ivy + Bean, and the Magic Tree House Series. She shares her recommendations on early chapter books. Charity will help you frame a solution for your precocious reader, your very young child with the very high reading level. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Hollowed Out: A Parent-Teacher Conference With Jeremy Adams | 03 Nov 2021 | 01:03:22 | |
Are you ready to have the biggest parent-teacher conference of your life? Listen as Jeremy Adams describes the pandemic of vacuity that is afflicting our young people. A decorated and most-beloved CA teacher, Jeremy Adams is the author of Hollowed Out: A Warning About America's Next Generation. He demonstrates the "uniquely perilous" position of our young people. What is he seeing in his classroom that is so different from 5-10 years ago? Why are teens "friendless and depressed...lost in a miasma of alienation and stupefaction"? Why are they uncurious, stunted, and uninformed? And most importantly what can we pour into them so they are no longer "hollow"?
The Antidote! Links!
Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 20: How To Go To The Library | 12 Oct 2021 | 00:33:15 | |
At listener request, Charity answers some of your most practical and theoretical questions about going to the library. Should you go to the library? What should you do about story time? Can going to the library with toddlers be fun? How do you navigate that situation? How do you choose what books to bring home? What are your parameters for decision-making? How do I find a book that isn't in the catalogue? What the dickens is the difference between Libby and Hoopla?! Answers to these questions--and stories shared by Charity Hill--await you. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Reading Man's Search for Meaning | 29 Feb 2024 | 00:13:52 | |
Charity and her 11th grade students read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl along with Robert Spaemann's address "Education as an Introduction to Reality" as part of Texas Holocaust remembrance week. Charity shares a speech she gave to the high school, generated from reading these texts together. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of Pax and Here in the Real World | 29 Sep 2021 | 00:30:16 | |
As part of an ongoing initiative, Charity Hill reviews children's books. In this episode, Charity reviews two novels by Sara Pennypacker: Pax and Here In The Real World. In Pax, we find a deep relationship between a boy (Peter) and his partially domesticated fox (Pax), a search for a moral identity, and a quest to make peace. Finally, Charity wonders if the end is satisfying to a readership that craves an answer to Peter's search. Charity praises Here In the Real World for its masterful ability to propose problems (character vs. parents, character vs. friends, hope vs. cynicism, chivalry vs. feminism) with rich and nuanced responses. In both novels, Charity notices how Pennypacker uses the titles and the characters names to alert us to deep meaning. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 19: Mother Culture: Taking Care of Your Heart, With Marcie Stokman | 15 Sep 2021 | 00:41:29 | |
Marcie Stokman, founder and president of Well-Read Mom, joins Charity for a conversation. Marcie tells of the need she saw that motivated her to found Well-Read Mom. Marcie and Charity share how deep reading, in a community of women, has impacted them. They talk about the "moral imagination" and how fiction shapes a sense of truth and goodness. Charity and Marcie urge you to "take care of our heart" as ingredient to mothering. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 18: Stories For Strong Girls | 23 Aug 2021 | 00:35:23 | |
Stories of strong girls and women show us that there is something distinctive about being a girl, about being a woman. Good literature, with strong female characters, has so much to offer! We wonder what is distinctive about being a girl? What is the feminine genius? Does my daughter have a heroic role to play? Where is the literature that supports my daughter in developing her identity as a particular feminine genius? Hear how stories of feminine strength display courage "as the form of every virtue at its testing point." Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 17: In Conversation With Julian Peters On Comics and Beauty, Part II | 10 Aug 2021 | 00:35:26 | |
Finish the conversation between Julian Peters, comic artist of Poems to See By and Charity Hill. We reflect on Julian's visual interpretation of "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden from Poems To See By, the role of beauty in comics, and the suitability or unsuitability of adapting certain works of literature to comics. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 16: In Conversation With Julian Peters On Comics and Beauty, Part I | 29 Jul 2021 | 00:44:51 | |
Join the first part of the conversation with Julian Peters, comic artist of Poems to See By as he teaches Charity the differences between comics and illustrations. They reflect on two of Julian's visually interpreted poems from Poems To See By and consider international comic traditions, and the role of beauty in comics. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of The War That Saved My Life | 14 Jun 2021 | 00:18:46 | |
As part of an ongoing initiative, Charity Hill reviews children's books. In this episode, Charity reviews Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War That Saved My Life. In the book review series, Charity offers praise, summary, and analysis of the text so that parents can decide which books are worth reading. Charity praises the quality writing and the powerful proposal within the narrative that evil can serve the purposes of good. Yet, Charity questions whether The War That Saved My Life is really a book that is psychologically appropriate for children under 13, given the abusive family relationships. Podcast includes brief references to violence. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 15: Tall Tales or This World is Larger Than Life | 25 May 2021 | 00:23:57 | |
Join Charity Hill's glee as she explores tall tales. She distinguishes what makes tall tales a distinct kind of story from fairy tales. Then, she explores why tall tales are fun--and funny! She wonders if its possible to love truth and still "play with it." She shows how delightful the disparity between reality and hyperbole can be. Then, Charity shares with us some of the best tall tales she has found--some old, some new! Book lists and book links below! Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 14: Poetry: Surprised By Joy! | 11 May 2021 | 00:33:35 | |
Poetry? Really? Do we have to?! This episode proposes that poetry will surprise you with joy. We discuss how poetry changes our experience of time, deepens our experience of meaning, and sparks joy. Charity discusses two Greek words used regarding time: chronos and kairos. Poetry is an instantiation of kairos time, time-as-meaningful. Discover new poetry and rediscover familiar poetry. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of the Midwife's Apprentice | 03 May 2021 | 00:12:40 | |
As part of an emerging initiative, Charity Hill reviews children's books. In this episode, Charity reviews Karen Cushman's Newberry Winner (1996) The Midwife's Apprentice. In the book review series, Charity offers praise, summary, and analysis of the text so that parents can decide which books are worth reading. We wonder if The Midwife's Apprentice really delivers the empowering message it intends to bring to birth. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 13: Gardening as Humanizing with Katherine Leaño | 19 Apr 2021 | 00:51:01 | |
In this interview with Katherine Leaño, you'll be encouraged to embrace the paradox of your humanity. You'll hear how gardening can help you and your children become more human, rested, integrated, and creative. You'll be challenged to make your backyard a different kind of "oasis." https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19212514 Gardening https://www.urbanharvest.org/gardens/ https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ https://www.southernexposure.com/growing-guides/ Art The Prairie is My Garden by Harvey Dunn (art) Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| What ARE Truth, Beauty, and Goodness...and How Do I Find Them In Books?! | 13 Nov 2023 | 00:43:29 | |
We love the words truth, goodness, and beauty...but if someone asked us to explain what these are, maybe we'd be flummoxed? In this episode, Charity puts flesh into these concepts: Charity helps us see truth, identify beauty, and recognize goodness in children's books and gives us concrete examples of these concepts from books we know. After she walks us through her own book discernment process, Charity dispels two common myths that prevent us from being responsible literary guardians. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of Fancy Nancy Series | 12 Apr 2021 | 00:14:11 | |
Is the Fancy Nancy series a series worth reading? We wonder "How can glitter be compatible with depth, with meaning?" What is a parent to do with an intelligent little girl's need for sparkle? We review the Fancy Nancy series to help you discern the best way to fill that glitter-shaped hole in every little girl's heart. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 12: What A Family Can Do | 05 Apr 2021 | 00:07:18 | |
After reviewing Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen, I was more aware of the miracles of in our every day circumstances. I share with you an encounter between my family and our orthodontist which shows how miracles are part of the (extra)ordinary. Listen to hear how fiction can shape what we see and how we receive it. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Books Worth Reading? Review of Miracles on Maple Hill | 29 Mar 2021 | 00:09:24 | |
As part of a new initiative, Charity Hill reviews specific children's books. In this episode, Charity reviews Virginia Sorensen's 1956 Newberry winner Miracle on Maple Hill. In the book review series, Charity offers praise, summary, and analysis of the text so that mothers and fathers know enough to decide which books are worth reading. Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||
| Episode 11: Family Spirituality and Fiction | 22 Mar 2021 | 00:34:43 | |
Charity Hill interviews Margaret Bereit regarding how fiction can shape family spirituality. What do you value that is real but "invisible"? How can fiction help to make what is unseen more tangible to your children? Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram. | |||