I have always loved Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books. I read them over and over as a child and still occasionally reread them now. Both my children read and loved them. Now, society as a whole is telling me that Wilder is “problematic.” I just read yet another comment on a blog post saying that the books are too problematic to be read to children these days. I have issues with that. There are a few specific reasons why Wilder is being labeled as such and I will address those in a minute but first, let’s talk about the problems with deciding that anyone and any book that doesn’t…

I brought two big cardboard boxes down from the attic the other day. My life is in those boxes. They are full of photographs–full of other versions of me, other time periods, memories, people, places. I have been pulling them out by the handful and sorting through them. I have been exclaiming in wonder; caught off-guard by things, people, and moments I had forgotten. We are so many different people over the years. I have photos of me as a young teen with braces, big glasses, and feathered bangs– the ’80s were not kind. There are handfuls of school photos from that time signed on the back with love from friends…

Typewriters once were utilitarian; something you used to get the words on the paper in the fastest, most efficient way possible. They were useful, everyday, and sometimes annoying; especially when the ribbon wore out or you made a mistake and had to go through the hassle of wite-out or correction tape. You learned to type in school because it was as necessary as cursive and balancing a checkbook. The clack of the keys and the ding of the bell when you reached the end of a line were just a part of life. As a child, I went to sleep to the sound of my father typing downstairs as he…

My daughter is writing a short story for her English class. It is supposed to be historical fiction and she is writing about a girl who lives in a castle in Britain during the 1500s. I think it is simply an excuse for her to research knights, swords, and castles. Her main character runs away from home because she wants to be an artist instead of learning the usual womanly skills of the time. Celia is enjoying writing the story and I have been requested to regularly read the various drafts. She is doing a very good job on it, including a lot of description that gives a feeling of…