Charlotte’s Blog
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 Dancers: A book about dancing with your heart
I love the opening line of The Dancers: “Three summers ago, when I was still a little kid, my mother and auntie took me to a powwow where we danced and danced.” Of course, the narrator is still a little kid. You know that. I know that. But she doesn’t know it. And her...
Miss Rumphius: Making the world more beautiful
I didn’t read Miss Rumphius when I was young, of course. It came out in 1982, when I was already an adult, but didn’t yet have children. And so the book escaped my notice for many years. And when I first read it, standing in a bookstore, I thought it was sweet and...
Holiday gift guide for Orthodox families
My husband and I love Christmas shopping. We skip the malls and go to the small, eccentric, family-owned brick-and-mortar shops that have unique and meaningful gifts. And we fill in with gifts from small online shops. This year's going to be different, though. It...
Jump-O-Ween: A Halloween party with a sensory kid
Li-Li, the sensory kid who stars in Miracle at Bates Memorial, is back! In Jump-O-Ween, the third book in Gin Noon Spaulding’s “Adventure of Li-Li” series, it’s Halloween. Li-Li’s church has borrowed the neighborhood school for their annual Hallelujah Party. It’s full...
Build your own Saint Nicholas Day gift bags
Updated for 2021! Friends, St. Nicholas Day is December 6. That's not as far off as it sounds. Especially this year, when plans are likely to be complicated by uncertainty. Will you be able to have an in-person party for the children of your parish? Will you deliver...
All the Way to the Top: A story of the Capitol Crawl
I have two things to say about All the Way to the Top. First, this book is important, and every child should have a chance to read it. If you have a picture book shelf, this book should have a place on it. There really isn’t another book like it. Second, All the Way...
Have a St. Nicholas party in July!
If you're looking for something fun to do with your little ones this month, I have just the thing: The Nativity of St. Nicholas falls on July 29. You can have a party to celebrate St. Nicholas’s birthday! Here are three different St. Nicholas party themes for you to...
A table where strangers are welcome
I love words. Words are my toys, and they’re my tools. I think with them, I work with them, I play with them. I use them to interact with people, and I use them to understand the world. And while I’d like to say that I love all words equally, that’s not true. I have...
Why I find the Sunday of the Paralytic disheartening
Guest post by Monica Spoor The Sunday of the Paralytic is just behind us – it is in fact a week later – and I’ve had the week to discover that it made me upset again, and why. I’ve heard sermons on that Sunday for years, of course, and they’re not very different from...
Rhubarb cookies for Pascha (or any time)
Before Holy Week, I had planned to make a half batch of honey bunnies for a Pascha treat. A whole batch would be too many for our family, and I wouldn't be taking them to church to share. So a half batch would do it. But when I went to the grocery on Holy Tuesday,...
The complete list of multicultural Easter picture books
For over two thousand years now, people have celebrated Easter with great joy and a dazzling variety of traditions. And it seems natural that the joy and the traditions would find their way into picture books. It would be natural, but it’s not common. When I created...
THE MAGIC OF BOOKS
Share the joy of Pascha through the magic of a book: Catherine's Pascha.
