March is blowing in with some great New Middle Grade Releases – including one by our very own Beth McMullen. (Congratulations, Beth!) Find a cozy blanket and a patch of almost-Spring sunlight and settle in with one of these new books. Miracle by Karen S. Chow When her father dies, Amie’s ability to play music dies, too. Nothing short of a miracle can bring back what she has lost. Amie has spent her life perfectly in tune with Ba-ba, her father–she plays the violin, his favorite instrument; she loves all his favorite foods, even if he can’t eat them during his cancer treatments; and they talk about books, including Amie’s favorite series, Harry Potter. But after Ba-ba dies, Amie...
I’m delighted to be interviewing one of our own STEM Tuesday team members, the fabulous Christine Taylor-Butler! Christine Taylor-Butler is the author of more than 80 fiction and nonfiction books for children. A graduate of MIT, she holds degrees in both Civil Engineering and Art & Design. Her current project is the speculative sci-fi fantasy series: The Lost Tribes. Her educational publishers and clients include Scholastic, Children’s Press, Pearson, Heinnemann, Cherry Lake, Lee and Low, Sterling and her favorite publisher: Move Books. Christine has been a panelist and moderator at World Science Fiction Convention, North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFIC), ConQuest, Boskone, DragonCon, Snake River, and many others. In addition she has spoken at the American Library Association (ALA), National...
Curtis Parker for the Deseret News Arthur Brooks has no shortage of stories. He dropped out of college, chased a dream to Spain (her name is Ester), and brought along the French horn he thought would be the focus of his life, landing a spot in the City Orchestra of Barcelona. But the stories are incidental to the foundation of faith and family that makes Brooks one of the nation’s most sought-after writers and speakers.Harvard has him now, decades removed from his untraditional path to a Ph.D and one-time leadership of one of the nation’s top think tanks, the American Enterprise Institute. Today he teaches some of America’s finest students concepts like “human flourishing” and “thriving.” He’s an academic concerned...
If a baby is conceived and no one on the Internet sees a sonogram or cute picture of dad’s belly next to mom’s baby bump, is it really happening? Judging by modern trends, the answer is no. Posting photos, musings, and moments both small and large to social media is a rite of modern parenting. “Sharenting,” as it’s come to be called, can help make the unsteady and isolating new world of mother and fatherhood bearable — connection, commiseration, and advice are all waiting online. But so too are bigger questions. Should so much information be out there? Should a child have say about what moments are or aren’t posted? Is it right to have the world aware of every...
Zoë Petersen, Deseret News “Whoa, whoa, turn around!” The crew from the Utah Department of Public Safety swept low over Canyonlands National Park in a small utility helicopter. A biologist in the chopper looked for bighorn sheep in the red crevasses but spotted the reflection of a mysterious metallic object instead. He hollered at the crew to volte-face. Within minutes they were on the ground investigating the otherworldly obelisk planted in stone and hidden deep in the remote wilderness of Utah. Half joking, they decided if one of them went missing, the others should run for it. The structure stood 3 meters tall and was built out of stainless steel plating riveted to an internal frame. When the crew cautiously knocked on the...
