Charlotte’s Blog
The best picture books with disabled characters
Updated April 2022 How many of the picture books at your house include characters with disabilities? The book collection at my godson's house is probably typical. Four big piles of books with no disabled characters, and two very small stacks that have major or minor...
Icons in Catherine’s Pascha
Some thoughts from R.J. Hughes The Orthodox faith is a faith of art in many forms. While my work was limited to the visual arts, I wanted to, and hoped I did, create a rich, colored world that reflects the beauty of a Pascha service. A huge thank you to Father John...
Orthodox churches in Catherine’s Pascha
When my illustrator, R.J. (Becky) Hughes, had the idea of framing the pages in Catherine’s Pascha with images of Orthodox churches from around the world, she wanted to have at least one church from every continent: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South...
Children’s basket cover project
Do you fill a basket with candy and small gifts for your children on Pascha morning? If you’ve made an embroidered cover for the Pascha basket that you take to church, your children might like to try their hand at basket covers for their baskets at home. Older...
How to make Pascha ornaments
Project created by R.J. Hughes “Oh! Could you make a blown-egg ornament like those eggs Catherine’s holding on the cover?” A single, off-hand comment from my mother-in-law. She had arranged an author’s presentation for me at her P.E.O. Chapter. At each meeting they...
Glass icon project
Project and pattern by Randi Maria Sider-Rose, Iconographer Peasants in 19th century Transylvania discovered that, although hand-painted icons from Greece were out of their price range, they were able to produce their own icons on glass. Following in this tradition,...
Itzhak: A boy who loved the violin
When my children were small, I told them that there are true stories about real people, and made up stories about made up people, and made up stories about real people. Written by Tracy Newman and illustrated by Abigail Halpin, Itzhak: A boy who loved the violin is a...
Top 10 most-read posts from 2020
My top 10 most-read posts of 2020 contained some surprises. Some new posts made the top 10, along with some of the first blog posts I wrote. Number 10: Pascha baskets and Pascha basket covers This post was #6 in 2019. It includes history and traditions related to...
St. Nicholas takes the executioner’s sword
Nicholas had learned, in the emperor’s prison, to sleep through the sounds of screams and shouts and blows. But that was years ago, and now the sound seeped through, disturbing his sleep. He rolled over without opening his eyes. And then he heard his name. He was...
With Two She Flew: Philoxenia with angels and autism
Because I ordinarily review picture books, the first thing I should tell you is that With Two She Flew is not a picture book. It is, however, an extraordinary book, quite unlike any other children’s book I have ever read. And it sits squarely at the intersection of...
Keeping Advent and Christmas during the pandemic
Remember what it was like, keeping Lent and Pascha at home this year? There was so much that we couldn’t do, because of the pandemic. That meant we had to figure out a different way of celebrating. We had to build on the foundations of our traditions, to create a...
St. Corona, the patron saint of pandemics
St. Corona seems to have become the patron saint of pandemics. But she hasn’t always been so. Here’s how it happened. The martyrdom of St. Corona and St. Victor St. Corona was martyred in the year 170, or perhaps 177. As with so many early saints, we know very little...
THE MAGIC OF BOOKS
Share the joy of the Pascha through the magic of a book: Catherine's Pascha.
