Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...

Halloween is the best holiday because it's all about people giving neighbors and strangers treats for free and telling kids how awesome they are.

Happy Reformation Day! The church is always reforming. Asking questions, holding leaders to account, and learning what the Bible says for ordinary people NOW is part of this. Hopefully we can do that w/o all the violence that the original Reformation led to. 🙃 www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o8o...

Happy Halloween! #TrickOrTreat #HappyHalloween #NatureArt

"We know what happens when private equity gets involved with businesses not expected to generate high growth or returns, as well as what happens when there's too little market competition in any given sector." B&T is gone. And now--guess who?--Amazon, famous friend of libraries, is making a play. 📚

I know a lot of people (cough Millennials) feel like they need to START a thing, START a food bank, build a little free food pantry. My friends, my loves, my dears. Don't start. JOIN. These exist. They have community ties! They have some funding! Accountability! Regulations!

I love Halloween. It's such a great cultural tradition, where neighbors give generously so kids can have a fun time, creativity is celebrated, and even adults can express themselves in costumes. I could do without the mountain of candy at home, but it's worth it for the joy of community!

Supper was laid out for them; leek, carrot, mushroom, and gravy turnovers garnished with beetroot and scallions, spring salad, onion bread, and apples crystallized in honey.

The destruction of part of the White House to make way for a glitzy ballroom, paid for by corporate overlords, while ordinary Americans are wondering how they're going to pay for groceries in November is just... so depressing.

I want more people to care that SNAP benefits are being cut off on November 1. 40% of SNAP beneficiaries are children. This is callous and vile.

This is where I want to be... (Brambly Hedge illustration by Jill Barklem)

Take your friends along to the larder. I want two small cheddar cheeses flavoured with thyme, two large meadow cheeses with hazelnuts and carrots, and one of the extra large meadow cheeses with celery bits.

Purple lavender in full flower in the garden.

So ALA and Children's Institute are the same weekend in the Chicago area next June. How are #kidlit folks handling that?

Happy Ada Lovelace Day to all who celebrate! This year I choose to remember one of the first recognized female astronomers, Elisabeth Hevelius. (1647-1693). This published Polish woman began her systematic study of the stars with her husband, but continued & published after his death.

I mean yeah, you had the important numbers memorized, the rest were written down. Or you could, you know, use the phone book? 😜

How to celebrate Banned Books Week: Read up on your local candidates for school board (and learn how to read between the lines--scarier candidates in my district basically speak in code); vote for the ones who will protect the freedom to read; encourage your friends & neighbors to do the same.

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

My painting NORTHERN SUMMER SKY

I’m just going to say it: I think two horses would have been easier to draw. The Met Museum, info below.

here's my take: I think humans are really fucking good. inherently. I think we are amazingly kind and giving. and everything about the world we live in is an attempt to stop us from being that. I think our societies step in to stop us from being good. I think our culture punishes us. but we ARE good

I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

🎢 Celebrating @asiqueira.bsky.social newest book: Vera la Valiente is Scared. Congratulations,amiga! 🎉 This book is funny, engaging & it addresses an important topic that will resonate with many children: facing our fears. https://marianariosramirez.com/vera-la-valiente-is-scared/ #kidlit #pb

I’m very glad Reading Rainbow is being revived as a long time lover of the program. My main hope is that they showcase a large variety of book authors and not just celebrities who have written books. I hope we go beyond follower count/fame and highlight books by folks pushing the medium.

Serious question: Where in the YA section do we send these millions of boys who loved reading (or at least grudgingly read) Diary of a Wimpy Kid in middle school?? They want humor, and their sense of humor is still largely juvenile, but they are now in high school.

Isn't it fascinating how powerfully this swan takes off and runs over the water with its #webbedfeet ? #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Stunday #Swanday #ClassicMono #photography #nature #wildlife #EastCoastKin

I just can't anymore with the influencers mocking fashion choices from just a few years ago. Hello, some people keep their clothes instead of getting a whole new wardrobe every five years.

How your email finds me

When the market reaches saturation on a certain topic/theme publishers tend to lean away from it for a spell, which should also be factored into your research. If you see a ton of it out there, you may be observing the tipping point.

I’ve seen more than one picture book dummy recently that was near perfect terms of voice and style but ended up being a pass because it didn’t align with current market trends. Checking the bestseller list each week, noting which titles are face out at the bookstore—these practices can help. #kidlit

I guess this has probably already gone viral somewhere but I am simply dying at this picture of a bear that looks like it hired a photographer to do a glamour shoot

Wow. Even after print declined, Heritage was a money-maker, as Strib did other papers who had dumped their printers. Outsourced to Iowa(!) has to mean BRUTAL early deadlines & I‘d say this is the final step before digital-only. Big North Loop redevelopment site tho - if you can handle demo/reno $$.

When despair for the world grows in me . . . onbeing.org/poetry/the-p...

Stand up and fight hard for democracy! In court. In the media. In peaceful protests. Together we must use our voices and our platforms to protect the constitutional rights of everyone, the rule of law in all circumstances, and free and fair elections in 2026.

Hey, can we stop comparing rude or incompetent politicians to children? It's so insulting to kids.

"Go to an old cemetery. See all the baby graves from before the 1950s & 60s? After that, hardly any. That's when people started vaccinating their children. If you're unsure what to do to protect your kids, the answer is literally written in stone." — Michael Okuda How quick we forget.

ONE CAN BE, shares Little Free Library joy. So, authors from all 50 states will add a copy to a LFL near them. The parade starts in Wisconsin with Joshua Feyen, who writes memoir and had a tiny love story published in the NYT. One state down. 49 to go! #onecanbe #50states #booksky #megakidlit

Happy #BookBirthday to @beamingbooksmn.bsky.social ONE CAN BE "is about the joys of being an introvert with a hat tip to #LittleFreeLibraries" www.patzietlowmiller.com/my-books/one...

It shouldn't be up to American children to save each other from getting shot. It's the job of American adults to stop shootings from happening in the first place. Ban assault weapons again now.

Good morning everyone. I hope you are okay today - especially you, Minneapolis. Check on your neighbors. Call your family members. Smile at children and old people. Pound your swords into plowshares. Topple tyrants with righteousness. Call your reps. Demand the cessation of gun sales. Pet a puppy.

Shame on you. Shame on anyone who is taking away mental healthcare instead of guns.

Channeling my anger and fear about the mass shooting that happened at a school in Minneapolis today into action by signing up to give blood. It feels so small, but I can't stop thinking about those children who need it right now. www.redcrossblood.org

There was a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis this morning. Every parent's worst nightmare. My kids are playing happily in the other room and I'm sitting here fighting back tears and rage.

A reminder at awful times like this

Not every book has to be for every reader. Not every reader needs to want the same kind of book every day.

Big Bear Was Not The Same is 4 years old today! After experiencing a natural disaster, Big Bear is not the same. "An accessible, age-appropriate primer that sheds light on trauma and PTSD." - Publishers Weekly. @beamingbooksmn.bsky.social #teacher #counselor #PTSD @naomijkrueger.bsky.social #fire

ironically the education for its own sake, Enlightenment-coded, Great Books-ass liberal arts degree is one of the better employment bets you can make. learn how to read, write, think critically, develop curiosity so you can pick up new skills quickly, etc etc

But why aren't they rolling their actual, largest ball of twine made by one man? This ball is puny compared to the real thing.