It Is Not Enough To

Sadly I Don't Sing. I Missed It For A Long Time, But My Daughter Emma Said Something Wonderful When I Was Feeling Blue One Day: "mom, You've Just Found A Different Way Of Using Your Voice, And That's With Your Books." In A Way, She's Right. It's Just A Different Way Of Expressing What I Feel About Music, Individuality, Art And All The Things I've Always Loved.

I've Learned A Lot Of Things About Myself Through Singing. I Used To Have A Certain Dislike Of The Audience, Not As Individual People, But As A Giant Body Who Was Judging Me. Of Course, It Wasn`t Really Them Judging Me. It Was Me Judging Me. Once I Got Past That Fear, It Freed Me Up, Not Just When I Was Performing But In Other Parts Of My Life.

When I Read To Children, I Try To Become The Characters. It's Great If You Can Make A Separate Voice For Each Character. Sometimes You Can Lower Your Voice With Excitement Or Get More Intimate About It: You Can Lean Forward And Engage The Children As A Narrator Or As A Reader. It's Particularly Important That You Find The Voice That You Want To Use For Each Character, Because Then Children Can Imagine That Person As You're Reading Aloud. And Of Course, The Illustrations Help Enormously.

I Do Think, Where Would Kids Be If It Weren't For You And For The Good Pediatricians, And For The Good Parents? I Passionately Believe In Sitting A Child On Your Lap And Tracing The Lines Of The Book With Your Finger, And They Can Read Before They Know They Can, If You Bother Enough. I Did It With My Kids, And They're Doing It With Their Kids Now.

If You Remain Calm In The Midst Of Great Chaos, It Is The Surest Guarantee The It Will Eventually Subside