In The Giver by Lois Lowry, young Jonas becomes the Receiver of Memories. Because his people control the weather, he’s never seen snow. The first cultural memory transmitted to him from The Giver is of snow.
Here’s how Lois Lowry writes Jonas’s first encounter with the idea of snow. Notice how she uses many senses to communicate snow’s feel to readers: (more…)
Memories are powerful.
Jonas finds that out in Lois Lowry’s The Giver.
Memories can cause pain. They also can bring hope, courage, or feelings of love.
Although no one can transmit memories from one person to another simply by touching them, this is exactly what happens in The Giver, and a 
particular memory gives Jonas wisdom when he has to make an important life-and-death decision. I won’t say anything more because I don’t want to spoil the book or the movie for you. (more…)
This real-life news report is just too good to pass up. I had to share it with you.
What would you do if most of the people in your town moved away, disappeared, or died?
According to Chuck Sheppard’s News of the Weird—and this qualifies—an older woman moved back to her hometown in Japan to find that it was no longer thriving. In fact, it was down to about 37 people.
What did this intrepid woman do? (more…)
There’s an advantage to being very, very young. I’m talking about younger than you are now.
When you’re really little, you discover new things all the time, things that seem old or boring to you now. Everything is amazing; everything is new.
The following is a passage from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. It’s about a woman remembering back to her youth, thinking about the first time she had discovered . . . well, I’ll let you read it: (more…)
How about writing something fun with your children, something that involves dreams and schemes?
Here’s the background: My husband and I traveled to California one year to participate in the Great Homeschool Convention in Ontario, California. At a Winchell’s Donut House in Las Vegas—have you ever tasted their pineapple fritters?!—we saw an interesting entrepreneur who had set up shop in the parking lot. (more…)
Aside from the Bible, what book should every Christian read?
The Huffington Post has an article titled “Spiritual Classics: 25 Books Every Christian Should Read.”
In their slide show, they feature classics from the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions. Here are six titles from their list: (more…)
Writing tools for all ages!
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