How do memories transform creativity and imagination? For artist and poet Kate Greenaway, childhood memories created a swirl of color,...

It starts with a low rumble. As the noise grows louder, I shade my eyes and look up at the blue sky. Overhead, the roar approaches and its source comes into view—half plane and half boat. A floatplane near Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands I'm still surprised when I spot a floatplane overhead. Since I grew up in a very rain-challenged California valley, there was little reason for a floatplane to fly over my childhood home! Now that I live in the Pacific Northwest, I find these

Painting by Helen Allingham What can the height of a table tell you? If you walked into a special children's library of long ago, a...

On a cool autumn evening , Christie Edwards faces a life-altering decision. She is attending an awards ceremony at the 1893 Chicago...

First Freedom: Escape into the Night She prayed that the night would be kind. Touching her daughter's shoulder one last time, her...

Actress Gloria Cayvan (left) and Infanta Eulalia of Spain Cinderella's fairy godmother created glass slippers with just a flick of her...

Discovering Narnian Treasure I walked into the fragrance of a hundred Christmas trees. On my way to my cluster mailbox about a half-mile...

It always surprised Grace Darling to emerge from the shelter of a walled garden to a world exploding with gray light. She looked up at...

"Viking" by Hjalmar Johnssen (1898) vikingship.us A Shimmering World of Illusion One of the delights of writing historical mysteries...

I'm trying to remember the name of a Star Trek episode. The plot features a civilization desperate to hear new stories, and then the unsuspecting Star Trek crew arrives on their planet. The inhabitants have a long tradition of storytelling. There's nothing wrong with that, until they begin to tire of the same old stories told over and over again. The newcomers bring exciting and original tales, and at first, everything is fine. But when the crew plans to move on, their hosts

A lone figure walked along the beach after a fierce storm. With her long skirt twisting in the steady wind, she put up a hand to keep her...

Ann Sotheran, stained glass window. The World of James Herriot, Thirsk. Image Credit: Amanda Slater Creative Commons Attribution-Share...

On an early spring day, Lucy Maud Montgomery felt a chill when she opened the door to the clothes room. Although the frost had started to...

Once upon a time, a shy little girl sat reading at her desk in a combined fifth and sixth grade classroom. Bright Southern California...