Time for a little winter respite. In the meantime, here's a little otter happiness from our trip to pick up our son from his university last week. May you all roll into the new year with such grace. https://videopress.com/v/U26vsLc6?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true And maybe a little cocoa if you're feeling chilly..... Happy New Year!!!
Hello everyone! Taking a break this week to enjoy my son being home from college. Which means I'm back to making lots of food, LOL. Love it! Love him to pieces! Here are a couple of photos I took of The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles. Part bookstore. Part art gallery. Lots of cozy nooks. … Continue reading Family Downtime & The Last Bookstore
Happy Holidays, everyone! See you in the New Year! https://videopress.com/v/IcHoVOeE?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&posterUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.files.wordpress.com%2FIcHoVOeE%2Fimg_5623_mov_std.original.jpg&preloadContent=metadata Summer of Love at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park https://videopress.com/v/SsbuM4VZ?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&posterUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.files.wordpress.com%2FSsbuM4VZ%2Fimg_5622_mov_std.original.jpg&preloadContent=metadata A field of lights in Golden Gate Park
Was it the great Shakes who said: A nose by any other name would smell as accurately? Yes, I think he was the one. And I think he was talking about the young James Kelly in search of a career, of something that would make him special. His future was out there. He could almost … Continue reading “Smelly” Kelly and His Super Senses – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Taking a little time off from posting until the fall. Thought I'd leave you all with a link to one of the most extraordinary places on earth, the Okavango Delta in Botswana. We camped on top of a truck throughout Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in 1997 for a couple of months. One of … Continue reading Okavango Delta – Respite
It's time for the Spring Fling Kidlit Contest! Rules: Stories should be for kids ages, 12 or under use a GIF to inspire your story use no more than 150 words (mine is exactly that) no illustration notes How could I resist this GIF from giphy.com???? NEVER TRUST AN EA(S)TER LION By Jilanne Hoffmann … Continue reading Never Trust an Easter Lion – #SpringFlingKidlit
The Christmas of Three Trees in memory of my father's passing (2013, Shot by my then 10-yr-old son) Wishing Everyone Snow (if you want it) Hope you're dancing like the Bay Bridge over untroubled water San Francisco Houses (yes, all the decorated trees are live) See you in the New Year! And watch out for … Continue reading Holiday Hiatus
I'll give you a hint about what I'm doing with my family instead of shopping... Hope you all are having a restful and inspiring time with family and friends! Perfect Picture Book Friday will return next week. Cheers!
Today's perfect picture book confirms that, yes, a picture book can be vitally relevant to adults and children, relating basic truths about our lives and how we interact with our world. That the picture book as an art object can do this in so few words continues to thrill me. Fausto is a man accustomed … Continue reading The Fate of Fausto – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
I missed last week's post due to Kidquake, the elementary school program of the Litquake Literary Festival in San Francisco. We wrangled about 800 kids, plus their teachers and chaperones through four assemblies, 10 workshops, and hundreds of books. All FREE for registered classes. And only one fire alarm pulled by a particularly exuberant child. … Continue reading Express Delivery From Dinosaur World – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
Jilanne Hoffmann 
