Pamela Beere Briggs was a writer and filmmaker who never forgot her joyful time in a Japanese kindergarten. It led her to believe that every child should have the opportunity to love learning. Reading, writing, and creating (films, stories, food & field-trips) were her favorite pursuits. She is one of the authors of The Schoolhouse Experiment: Reimagining School at Home and in the Classroom.
Pancake Chef Cheers Us
It turns out after knowing my husband Bill for 35 years, I (along with Natalie) have only recently learned that he is an amazing pancake chef. We wake up thinking about his pancakes. One night last weekend, I told him I was in the mood for his pancakes and guess what? Yes!! We ate pancakes
Truth & Tubman
It is time for me to make a confession: When I noticed in my public library a slick “everything is okay” children’s biography of the current president shelved between Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, I pulled it out and hid it in the library where it will never be found. This president is a soul
A Curious Story About Sweet Corn
I love reading. I read every day. I actually don’t feel good if a day goes by without at least a little reading. I cook every day. Some people think I love cooking. But I don’t think I really love cooking. I think I love eating. I cook good food so that I can eat
Foundation and Framing
When in doubt, go to the library. J. K. Rowling The foundation for the downstairs garage/upstairs library has been poured and our message to ourselves and any future inhabitants has been permanently recorded via a nail as my writing instrument. Bill realized that once the walls go up, we will have to read our message
Library + Tea & Biscuits
A retired teacher in Italy converted this charming truck into a mobile library and drives it to rural villages so that children who don’t have easy access to libraries can check out books. When I told Natalie I would love to convert a vehicle into a Mobile Bookshop/Tea Shop that could visit homebound older people—to
It Began With a Page
How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way We are building a library because we love books and we love to read so much. While this space will most often feature stories and discoveries we make in the process of building our library, I will occasionally write about a book that I love too much not to
Halloween Book Treats
Sharing our love of books is fun For the second year in a row, we set up our Halloween book give-away and it was exhilarating to see how enthusiastic and appreciative everyone, both children and adults, was when they saw the boxes organized by picture books, middle grade books, young adult, and books for parents.
A Tiny Good Thing
We have been thinking about, researching, and planning our library project off and on for a dozen years. One good thing about things taking longer than you expect is that it allows for more learning. I will be sharing on this website not only the building of our downstairs garage/upstairs library+studio, but also the amazing
The Little Free Library
This is our Little Free Library. It is such an active library that Bill, who is our official curator, must check it every other day to make sure it is full, but not too full (so that it is easy to peruse the books). This picture I took today makes me think it’s a bit