As orca attacks on trainers become increasingly violent, the warnings of Rose and other scientists fall on deaf ears, only to be realized with Brancheau’s death. Kirby covers the media backlash, the eyewitnesses who come forward to refute SeaWorld’s PR spin, and the groundbreaking OSHA case that challenged the...
The wit of cartoonists like Tom Toles, Mike Thompson, and the widely-popular Doonesbury strip by Gary Trudeau have amused and engaged readers for decades with their humorous take on the issues and subjects of the day, often poking fun at both sides of the debates. Doonesbury is well known...
The “Internet Girls”, also refered to as the “IM” series, is a trilogy by American author Lauren Myracle written between 2005 and 2008. The Young Adult series consisting of TTYL (2005), TTFN (2007), and L8R, G8R (2008) follows the lives of three friends- Zoe, Maddie, and Angela- as they...
Referred to as “Watergate at the high school level” by attendees of the National Council of Teachers of English during a 1975 convention, at its core The Chocolate War (1974) is a brilliantly-crafted novel that focuses on the issues of conformity and the use of coercion to enforce cultural norms. A New...
March is National Reading and Grammar Month here in the United States. It is built around the birthday of Dr. Seuss, as March 2 is honored with a National Read Across America Day. Libraries and schools from coast to coast held reading parties and celebrated the written word; but...
As the story for my next book, A World of Ash, continues to take shape I thought I’d share the prologue from the book. As with all things of a creative nature this is a work in progress and nothing is set in stone until the day of publication....
The Giving Tree is one of the most affectionate, oft-quoted, and beloved children’s stories of all time; A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends are many a child’s first introduction to poetry. These books have endured because Silverstein paints a whimsical world of fantasy that...
With the final theatrical installment being released worldwide this week, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to discuss THE most banned book (collectively) of the 21st century according to the American Library Association– the Harry Potterseries; the first four books are, as a group, at #7 for the most...