Amazing Adventures from the Editor of Ask

As the editor of Ask, I get to learn about some amazing and unusual people and writing “The Amazing Adventures of Manjiro” for our July Shipwreck issue of Ask was no exception. This is the true story of a young castaway rescued by an American whaler who became the first Japanese person to visit the […]

Have You Talked to Your Kids About Hiroshima?

It’s the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima this week which brought up an interesting conversation between my husband and myself. The question was, is the atomic bomb and its aftermath an appropriate topic for a 9-year-old? If not, why not? And if so, then how can we make sure she is getting age-appropriate, factual content […]

Favorite First Lines to Keep Your Kids Reading

A story is only as good as its first sentence. That’s probably why some authors spend as much time crafting the perfect first sentence as they spend writing the rest of the book. If you can’t reel your audience in with the opening line, what’s going to motivate them to stick around for any line […]

Talking With Your Children About What They Can Do To Help Protect Creatures Great and Small

There aren’t many stories in the news that have the ability to bring tears to a child’s eyes like those that feature animals who have been hurt or killed either by accident or on purpose through human error or judgment. Children are natural animal lovers and they have an innate sense of fairness that is […]

What Greece Can Teach Your Child About Financial Literacy

There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about Greece and its financial troubles. Scary words like recession and unemployment and default are used endlessly by newscasters and commentators, and to a child listening in, I’m sure it is both confusing and ominous. Especially with the U.S.’s financial crisis so recent (and still […]

A Different Kind of Treasure Hunter

My eight-year old daughter is an expert butterfly egg hunter. Our backyard is filled with plants that are hosts—food plants—for the caterpillars that ultimately turn into butterflies and every summer, various butterfly species travel to our tiny urban backyard and lay their eggs on these plants, connecting their babies to the tasty treats that the […]