Secretary of the Arts Petition

Secretary of the Arts Petition

Here's a favorite quote of mine from Katherine Anne Porter, about the importance of the arts, to our society and to our history:

“The arts live continuously, and they live literally by faith; their nature and their shapes and their uses survive unchanged in all that matters through times of interruption, diminishment, neglect; and they outlive governments and creeds and societies, even the very civilizations that produced them. They cannot be destroyed altogether because they represent the substance of faith and the only reality. They are what we find again when the ruins are cleared away.”

America is one of the few countries that doesn't have a Minister of Culture. When international culture ministers meet on global issues affecting the arts and artists, the best we can do is send the head of the NEA, if we send anyone at all. It's time to turn that around. Obama is an arts supporter, and Quincy Jones has started a petition for a Secretary of the Arts that has a real shot at making an impact. Let's all sign it!

Playful Learning

Just before the holidays I did an interview for the wonderful website and blog "Playful Learning." This site is run by esteemed educator (and Mom of two) Mariah Bruehl, who is a teacher, administrator, curriculum designer and principal. Mariah recently opted to work from home so as to devote herself full time to her two daughters. Fortunately we can all benefit from this decision as much as her girls surely are, since Mariah is now applying her wealth of wisdom about learning - playfully and joyfully - to parenting. In addition to her terrific blog, her site features scores of ideas, activities, resources, recommendations and interviews. Highly recommmended!!!

Read, Kiddo, Read!

James Patterson, the mega-bestselling author for adults and kids (and the only one to be on both the adult and children's book bestseller lists simultaneously!) has launched a fabulous new website about kids, books and reading. Called "Read, Kiddo, Read!" (http://www.readkiddoread.com) it features a veritable smorgasbord of delights and resources for getting kids reading. Of course there are recommended book lists - organized by age, and category, with wonderful reviews by the superb Judy Freeman and attendant information and recommendations like "If you love this book, then try..." There's also a great community sprouting up that you can join. Members can post their own recommendations and ideas on blogs, chat in forums, generate links, add video etc. There's a newsletter, and wonderful regular postings by Judy Freeman with topics like "Almost Can’t-Miss Sure Shot Books…for Boys" and "Great Books Under the Tree 2008." Finally, there are author interviews - and I'm proud to say I participated in one with my mother. From the RKR home page, click on the blue "The Interviews" button to the right of the RKR logo, and ours is the first interview link at the top of the page. Hats off to James Patterson for leveraging his extraordinary talent and success for such a great cause!

Smart Baby Kid: Book Review: Raising Bookworms

Here's a nice review of the book, and a great site for parents...

Smart Baby Kid: Book Review: Raising Bookworms

Why Books Make Great Gifts

There's a holiday marketing campaign going on right now called BOOKS=GIFTS. The program was organized by Random House, with many other publishers joining the effort. The goal is, of course, to emphasize that books are a more ideal gift than ever this holiday season, with the struggling economy. Many high profile authors like Christopher Paolini, Judy Blume and Maya Angelou are doing very short video clips that share their perspective on why books make great gifts, the gimmick being that each one says "Books make great gifts because... (fill in the blank for each author)," and then "Give... (blank)."

My mother and I recently shot one of these ourselves to contribute to the campaign. We had to keep it short and sweet and commercial - i.e. specific to the Julie Andrews Collection, so we leaned into our logo: "Books make great gifts because words lead to wisdom and wisdom leads to wonder. Give the gift of wonder."

In fact, there are several important reasons why books really do make great gifts, especially for kids, this year and any year... Here are just a few:

* Books are evergreen - they keep on giving, well beyond the day they are received. They give with each read, and if they are subsequently shared or passed down, they keep on giving. They are like presents that can be opened over and over again.

* Books send a message to the recipient beyond that of the book itself. They tell the reader, "I care about you. I think of you as this sort of person, and therefore I think you would enjoy this book."

* Books educate, inform and inspire. They broaden consciousness and perspective. They also cultivate curiosity, nurture the imagination, and promote a sense of wonder.

* Books provide outstanding long-term value for a relatively low cost.

* Giving young people books as gifts subliminally underscores the connection between reading and the joy of receiving, thus strengthening the association between books and pleasure.

* There are countless types, genres, styles, subjects and authors to choose from, maximizing your opportunity to find something uniquely suited to each recipient.

* If you are overwhelmed by options, or not sure where to begin to find the right book for a loved one, there are myriad resources to help. Your local bookseller is trained to help match the right book to the right person. You can also explore Amazon.com's "listmania" lists and "Customers who bought this book also explored..." feature. You can pick up a copy of the New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, American Libraries magazine or any number of other publications dedicated to reviewing books. There are even websites geared to helping people find books they love - one to explore is www.goodreads.com.

So give the best gift of all this year. Give books!