Charlotte’s Blog
How Theodora of Alexandria became a monk and a mother
There are many saints named Theodora. This Theodora lived in Alexandria in the fifth century. She was married to a man named Paphnutius, and by all accounts they had a happy marriage, living together in harmony and love. Theodora’s temptation But Theodora was...
Arabella: A sailboat, a storm, and a grandfather’s love
Arabella is a rare thing in picture books: it is a genuinely exciting story. The main character, a boy named Matthew, impulsively takes his grandfather’s sailboat out after a storm. But he doesn’t read the weather right. Away from the shore, the high winds and...
Did You Hear: A Story About Gossip
I have to be honest with you: I have mixed feelings about Did You Hear? A Story About Gossip by Frank J. Sileo. Dr. Sileo is a psychologist in New Jersey who works with children, teens, and families and who writes picture books on topics such as Crohn’s disease,...
When an autistic adult goes to the hospital
I realized last week that, in raising my autistic children, I failed to teach a set of skills that are crucially important: I failed to teach them how to be a patient in the hospital. These skills are hard for anyone. But they are particularly hard for autistic adults...
Orthodox Saints of World War II
Orthodox Christians treasure the stories of our saints. The Holy Scriptures, the Creeds, our prayers and our hymns, tell us what we believe. The lives of the saints tell us how we should live. We look to them to guide us and to show us by their examples the Christian...
The Zero Dads Club: A Father’s Day story for kids without dads
Father’s Day can be hard for children who don’t have a father. At school, there may be crafts and projects celebrating fathers. And those are wonderful! But not for the children who feel left out. If the teacher’s plan doesn’t include the kids who don’t have a dad,...
Love is in the Hair: Memories and stories and love
Some of the sweetest picture books I’ve ever read are about a little one waiting for the arrival of a new sibling. These books help a child know what to expect when the new baby arrives. In the books, they learn that new babies don’t talk and they don’t play. They...
Maybe God Is Like That Too: A book to help young children see God
Jennifer Grant knows how young children think. That’s something most of us forget. But Grant remembers. And in her book, Maybe God Is Like That Too, she explains who God is, and what God is like, in a way that will make sense to young children. Young children are not...
When Charley Met Emma: A social story about disability
It took me a while to figure out why I like When Charley Met Emma so much. At first glance, it’s everything I don’t like in a picture book. But I love it! Seriously. It’s a delightful book. It took me a long while to figure out why it’s so delightful. Let’s start with...
The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree: A picture book about deafness
I’ll start with a disclaimer: I love Angeliki Pedersen, author of The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree. We attend the same parish, and I think I must have met her the first time we visited here. She’s the kind of person that reaches out to strangers at coffee hour...
Moon Watchers: A story about prayer, fasting, and good deeds
First things first. In Moon Watchers, Reza Jalali tells the story of a Muslim family’s observance of Ramadan. I'm not Muslim, of course. So why am I reviewing a book about a Muslim family? I'm reviewing Moon Watchers because it is a story about a little girl...
Almsgiving and the Annunciation
Tomorrow, when we celebrate the Annunciation, we celebrate the moment when God, the King of heaven and Creator of all, saw Himself as a homeless person and made Himself a beggar. All of heaven was His throne, and the earth His footstool. And yet He asked a human...
THE MAGIC OF BOOKS
Share the joy of Pascha through the magic of a book: Catherine's Pascha.
AN INVITATION
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