“What IS that?  Uck!  Man!  It stinks.  There’s a terrible smell coming from the fridge.  Do YOU smell that?  We’ve got to figure out what it is!” We’ve ALL had that conversation at least once in our lives.  Yet leave it to Josh Funk to take that conversation and run with it for a sequel […]

I realize we JUST had a Simply 7 interview with Tara not too long ago, but it’s already time for another 1.  

Superheroes are ALL the rage these days.  Just ask Marvel and their now ridiculous amount of successful movies.  And related toy franchises. And book tie-ins.  Superheroes usually win the appeal of children.  But let’s not forget that villains can be just as popular, especially to the imagination of children who want to act out emotions […]

If you don’t know who Tara Lazar is, well … let me introduce you.

It’s almost time for one of my favorite holidays: Valentine’s Day!  Why is it my favorite holiday?  Because we get to give and receive LOVE!  That’s right, I said it.  It doesn’t have to be romantic love.  It can be friend love and family love and even pet love. And what better way to celebrate […]

Chinese New Year!  The Year of the Rooster.  While I was hoping to post this interview before the holiday on January 28th, it didn’t happen.  I was also hoping I could say something pithy about a personality trait of the Rooster to excuse this.  “See?” I would say, “It is meant to be late because the […]

The 100th day of school is a pretty big deal for Kindergartners and 1st graders.  For that matter I’ve even seen 3rd graders celebrating the day in my elementary school.  Yet for some reason there isn’t a great supply of picture books dealing with this topic.  Inevitably you get a counting book (and counting to […]