One of the traditional, good luck charms in Japan is the Daruma Doll, the ancient roly poly doll that can’t be knocked over, no matter…
When they arrived in the United States, as we know, many immigrants shortened or changed their names. Sometimes this happened because of clerical errors or…
This month, you may well find yourself in the audience, watching a young person you know making that walk across the stage to receive a…
It’s the 400th anniversary this month of the founding of Jamestown, the site of the first English-speaking presence to survive on the coast of the…
As we head towards St. Patrick’s Day and fanciful images of Leprechauns begin appearing in television commercials and on cocktail napkins, we might pause for…
The hair of the child is black and whispy, spiked, really, and her half moon of a mouth has broken into a smile that shows…
Inevitably, many children ask the question, “How did the world begin?” And so it is a basic rite of childhood, and a basic rite of…
One of our nation’s Founding Fathers, Adams was the son of a colonial farmer who instilled in his son not only the values of hard…
For the next two weeks in Chicago, something extraordinary is happening: the Chicago Children’s Humanities Festival. From October 28th through November 12th, the city will…
I once heard an actor say that the first thing he determines when creating a character is his shoes. Once you’ve got the shoes, he…