Category: Family (Page 16 of 24)

Celebrating Children’s Book Week 2013

May 15, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

It’s Children’s Book Week and I’m celebrating over here at the Observation Desk (which for those who don’t know is the official name of this blog)! In the words of the CBW website, “Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, commemorative events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes — wherever young readers and books connect!”

Honestly every week feels like Children’s Book Week in my house because pretty much everyday I do some combination of writing books for teens and kids, editing book for teens and kids, and reading to children. And there’s no doubt that reading and being read to as kid has shaped not only who I am as a reader and writer but as a person.

I can remember my mom reading to me and my siblings before bed. I’m sure she read us picture books (we had many, many, many Golden Books on our shelves), but it’s the novels that stand out in my mind, particularly the Little House books, the Anne of Green Gables books, and Little Women. These books were full of strong girl characters, family relationships, love and friendships, hard work and hardships.

My well-worn copies of Little Women and the Little House books.

It’s the values of these books that have had a huge influence on the way I strive to live my life and the kind of books I write. And no book I read as an adult can really have that same impact on me. So of course I feel the need to celebrate Children’s Book Week…I hope every child can learn to love books and like me find new worlds, people, and loves through them.

What books influenced you when you were a kid?

Thinking of Kylene

April 16, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

That’s me on the left, reading to my little sister, Kylene, on the right.

Most days I’m not sad about the death of my sister Kylene. It’s been 11 years after all. And the sharp pangs of loss tend to fade over time into a duller, more generalized ache of longing. But there are triggers that bring back the sting of losing her. Inevitably, major life milestones, her birthday every year, and today—the anniversary of her death—dredge up the deep well of feelings of losing your 16-year-old sister.

In the past, I’ve shared Kylene’s poems (here and here). Yesterday I was reading through one of her journals. Her words are pretty typical of girl her age (she was 13 when she wrote these particular entries and looking forward to a trip to Georgia with her Girl Scout troop), but there ones that break my heart because they’re so full of hopes and dreams, and I know she had so many of these that never came true.

“Every activity sounds incredibly exciting.” “There are so many things to look forward to.” “Seven days ’till I have one of the best five days in my entire life.” When I read these snippets I can’t help but think of all the activities she missed out on, all the things she looked forward to and never got to experience, how short her entire life ended up being.

So I let myself have this day to be sad for Kylene and for myself, and for all the people who knew her and lost her, and all the people who didn’t get to know her. The other days I remember her with a smile, and try to be more caring like she was, and try to live my life experiencing new and wonderful things because she didn’t get to. Even though sometimes it’s hard to remember, not because the memories are faded, but because the memories are bittersweet.

Transformative Power of the Senses

April 12, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

I’m always amazed at how a small detail—a sight glimpsed out of the corner of my eye; the whiff of an familiar, but forgotten, smell; a tickle of sound in my ear—can transform me to a different place. And not always a physical place, sometimes a place in time.

Honeysuckle, with its far-reaching sweet scent and sticky nectar, brings me back to early summer during my childhood. When there was always a tree to climb or a brook to explore or a patch of asphalt to skin my knees on. When the sun stayed up late and my parents allowed me to play outside until a late bedtime.

The album Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos transports me to a white mini-van packed to the gills with my family and our luggage. Cruising down the highway toward Florida, scenery rushing by as we drove south to Florida. My siblings and I singing “The Name Game” song: “Chuck, Chuck, bo-buck, banana-fana fo-“. My sisters and I cutting off and then cracking up when my brother—the youngest, who was only three—shouted out the swearword.

The view in Connecticut.

Today as The Boy and I walked to the beach, a puff of white in the space between two houses made me suck in a surprised breath as my mind traveled 6,300 miles to the island of Moorea in French Polynesia. Once we arrived at the beach, I stopped for a better look. Puff up those clouds a little more, change the gray waters of Long Island Sound to a see-through turquoise, substitute Long Island for an island in the South Pacific, and turn the rest of the slightly overcast sky to a pale blue…and I was in paradise.

The view in Moorea, French Polynesia.

Okay, I realize looking at the two pictures, the views aren’t even close to each other, but something about that quick glance set the gears in my mind turning and brought me to another place. Both sights are beautiful in their own ways, don’t you think?

What senses bring you to a memory?

Sweets Blogfest

March 6, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Authors Kelly Hashway and Beth Fred are hosting the Sweets Blogfest! I decided to join in on the action because who doesn’t love sweets. Participants will be posting about all things sweet: favorite sweet literary couples, favorite sweet romances, favorite sweets (candy), and there’s a giveaway over on Kelly’s blog!

What kinds of sweets are you enjoying today?

The Book Bag: Touching the Surface and Enthralled

January 24, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

I have in my possession the infamous book bag. It’s kind of like the traveling pants of my sisters, my mom, my sister’s wife, and I. The bag has two quotes on it: “When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.” (Erasmus) and “My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read.” (Abraham Lincoln).

There aren’t too many rules to the book bag. Add as many books as you want. Read as many books as you want. Keep it for as long as you want (or until you get tired of being harassed by the other bookees). When the bag cycles back to you, take out your old books and add in some new ones. There is a journal that goes along with it for jotting down your thoughts on your own books or others (or none).

Here is what is in the bag for me to choose from (I’ll probably try and read them all (if I haven’t already read them…I’m looking at you Will Grayson, Will Grayson), even though some of them are *gasp* adult books).

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

The challenging part for me is to try and include books my twin-not-twin hasn’t already borrowed. Here are the books I will be adding to the bag. I thought Enthralled would be a good one because it’s an anthology of short stories. The other bookees can read whatever stories tickle their fancy and skip the rest. Touching the Surface is by Kimberly Sabatini, who is an awesome person who wrote an awesome book, so of course I want everyone to read that one.

What books have you read lately that you’d like to share with others? Oh, and one last thing. There is still time to enter to win Annika James’ Wanted. Just leave a comment in the post below.