Writing Meets Motherhood book event

This morning (it's Sunday), Toni Klym McLellan, Meagan Francis, and I talked to a small audience in the very lovely store, Read Between the Lynes, in Woodstock, Illinois about the intersection of writing and motherhood. Meagan talked about her two books, The Everything Health Guide to Postpartum Care and Table for Eight: Raising a Larger Family in a Smaller Family World, Toni talked about newspaper writing and travel writing (she had a piece in FamilyFun Magazine about dogsledding with her kids), and I talked about the Baby Bonding Book for Dads -- why we wrote it, who it's for, how a book gets written in the first place (it's often the one you are looking for on the shelf but can't find), and why dads and moms might want to read it. The audience was all women, except for Toni's husband who came in with her three bright, boisterous, and kind boys towards the end, but lots of books were sold. Toni's friend took pictures and promised to send some, which I will post when they come in.

After our talk, the lovely owner of the store, Arlene Lynes, stood up to say that when she opened the store three years ago, she and her husband disagreed about whether it should be open on Sundays. Arlene insisted that the store be open on Sundays so that women with small children, who needed a break, could come in and browse, read, and relax in the store.

(The huge stuffed lion under the table at the front, and the store's friendly dog Jake, also make it a nice place for children of all ages, any day of the week. And the comfy chairs throughout the small store are just right for tired folks to relax in.)

Arlene also said that independent bookstores are on the rise, again. She believes that since the Enron scandal more people really are trying to stay local and buy local, and that that has been reflected in the growing popularity of indie bookstores.

Next time you think of ordering off Amazon, check your local bookstore first! Often they will give you an Amazon discount (or some kind of discount), if you ask. If you're hesitant, or just want to save the money, think of this: When is the last time Amazon hosted a local author reading?

Read to Your Baby

A BBC article from April 10th called Dads Don't Read Bedtime Stories cites a new poll that found that only 42% of dads read to their kids before bed. In the Baby Bonding Book for Dads we tell dads it's never too early to start reading and we even suggest you read to your nearsighted 3-month-old! But reading to older kids is where the real fun begins. When our son was 3 he wanted us to substitute the name of all the main characters with his name. We no longer read Curious George, we read Curious Etani. The Runaway Bunny was The Runaway Etani ... you get the idea.

You get to re-read your childhood favorites when you read to your kids, and also discover some of the books you missed as a child (The Light Princess, anyone? A strange chapter book by a contemporary of Lewis Carroll's; Chronicles of Narnia; The Hobbit. Kid lit is so rich and amazing, how could you not read to your kids just to have an excuse to read it yourself?!).

Maybe it's an English thing? Hey American Dads, it's time to stop surfing the net and go read a book with your kid(s).