https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal daily 0.75 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/711734b6-ed74-4b23-abe3-1e92460592f9/IMG_9103.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/95142a52-d0c0-4b60-a398-397cbdfd0063/Martin+-+Forrest.jpeg https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/swaposcope monthly 0.5 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/235e8d84-5cbf-44a8-a27e-51cab7b76219/capa-trocoscopio.png The Reading Journal - Swaposcope - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/waiting-for-the-whales monthly 0.5 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/15c09250-e7d4-4470-9f02-83944cd0b749/5F98E970-BBE0-4133-B6EC-ED54265B07F3_1_102_o.jpeg The Reading Journal - Waiting for the Whales - The book speaks of our relationship to place- the meaning we embody from repetition, from visiting and revisiting the same stretches of beach, the rainforest of our childhood. The passing of time. The way people come- and they also go, sometimes, only to return. A treasured relationship- between a grandfather and his granddaughter. Who slowly built their knowing each other upon a life lived in gentle relationship with the land, the forest, and the sea. Seedlings, they patiently water and watch them grow. Crops they harvest and mostly give away. The orcas- a metaphor for steadiness, heart presence, wisdom. The girl grows older and one summer’s end, the grandfather dies, on the very day when the orcas return. His straw hat rests peacefully on the floor of his cedar cottage. Grief is felt in the echoes of stillness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/7ffc5a69-1749-474f-9f22-4c2f7ee10631/906E1573-B10A-42AB-8FBA-82FBC60F4A42_1_102_a.jpeg The Reading Journal - Waiting for the Whales - Make it stand out Pender Island 2013. Photo by @maxdsbrown https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/home monthly 0.5 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/a58a8adb-8f24-43d6-a2eb-94b371a50ca2/IG+Reel+Covers+%282%29.png The Reading Journal - Home - Home is the first picture book she wrote & illustrated. A whimsical portray of ways of living, both mythical and ordinary. A journey that takes us from rural to urban, nautical to lunar homes. With deep colouring- blacks and greys with a touch of crimson in the recurring brick chimney, a girl’s stripped t-shirt, the French flag, the minimalist geometric window frame, the drop of ink on the artist’s palette. This book makes us consider how peoples and cultures live, the way creatures take residence in nature, be it permanent or temporary. It even invites us to ponder the future: a Victorian home depicted inside a force field greenhouse structure against a planetary background. It holds an important question about displacement and belonging and where we might find it. If you’d like to listen to the story, please visit the Mama Reads Instagram by clicking here. For a beautiful review of Home by Maria Popova, visit the Marginalian. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/e74c8da1-b46e-4786-8a4e-acc55b08f212/IMG_1001.jpg The Reading Journal - Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/ab92acc9-5fcb-4399-95ad-7688eb13b5f9/IMG_2324.jpeg The Reading Journal - Home - Georgia & Audrey East https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/0e2cc2f4-6462-48cb-a66d-5517bbd97941/IG+Reel+Covers+copy+2.png The Reading Journal - Home - This house was made by my daughter, Georgia, back when she attended the GreenThumb Montessori preschool in Vancouver, BC. I see tangled fiber bits that somehow make sense- and reside not entirely contained in the structure of the house. A simple rectangle invites us in. Perhaps that’s the beauty we find in the feeling of HOME? A place that holds our messyness, invites others in, and allows space to simply be? https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/a-giraffe-and-a-half monthly 0.5 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/49a65515-f9e6-41f1-886f-27138d100bbe/81Xe6JoA15L._SL1500_.jpg The Reading Journal - A Giraffe and a Half - From an early age, my daughter, Georgia, loved his stories and illustrations- the simplicity of black and white line drawings, cartoon like imagery depicting the most unthinkable scenarios- such as ‘The Giraffe and a Half’. A circular tale that builds up as you go, a motion forward, connecting a boy and his giraffe, on a journey that reminds us- just how far imagination can take us. And how sometimes, going full circle is just what happens. We add, subtract, shuffle - only to feel our feet land exactly where we started. But we are never the same after that round about journey, are we? https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/the-webs-of-life monthly 0.5 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/5f8599b8-6a79-453e-9523-0f2d76c933d3/victoria_prado_por_armando_prado The Reading Journal - The Webs of Life - Make it stand out Photo by Armando Prado (website / instagram) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1006ea7b-7da0-4c2f-a53e-f0efc87be1f4/Mary-Oliver-free.jpg The Reading Journal - The Webs of Life - “It’s also true that I believe poetry — it is a convivial, and a kind of — it’s very old. It’s very sacred. It wishes for a community — it’s a community ritual, certainly. And that’s why, when you write a poem, you write it for anybody and everybody. And you have to be ready to do that out of your single self. It’s a giving. It’s always — it’s a gift. It’s a gift to yourself, but it’s a gift to anybody who has a hunger for it.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/b00d69b0-37cb-4145-aa98-51e4ba8e065d/DSC_1617.jpeg The Reading Journal - The Webs of Life - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/papalote-papelito monthly 0.5 2025-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/e272369b-d8ee-4e16-be2b-03d3fe4eacaa/IMG_8546.jpg The Reading Journal - Papalote, Papelito - Originally published in 2004, “papalote, papelito” is a picture book by Mexican writer, poet, and psychologist Carmen Villoro, and illustrated by Alberto Castro Leñero. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/cae30055-ba16-4f85-9bbe-9a0166c9234b/IMG_8557.jpg The Reading Journal - Papalote, Papelito - This story fears not expressing the full spectrum of human emotions. A young child seating cross legged -lands my heart as a reminder that we all carry a darkness within. The image is accompanied by a Canción about our capacity, if not an inclination, to care, to notice the softness. And to be playful as we traverse life and find our ways in and out of that tenderness. The song speaks of seeing the world through such innocence. Forever not the same, changed by that particular form of love. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/06278454-68e4-4c18-9f05-fe8415c253f6/IMG_8555.jpeg The Reading Journal - Papalote, Papelito - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/8861fbab-a1eb-44c1-927e-9844cb9fdb7c/IMG_8585.jpeg The Reading Journal - Papalote, Papelito - Words by: Carmen Villoro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/fe717957-b499-4330-979b-4bb06915b852/IMG_8675.jpeg The Reading Journal - Papalote, Papelito Illustrations by: Alberto Castro Leñero https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/featured-artist-emma-fitzgerald monthly 0.5 2026-03-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/ef505e2c-2c99-48cb-b5a7-f9ae8e3f2b6a/IMG_7290.jpeg The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Emma at Hollyhock Retreat Centre, on Cortes Island, British Columbia, Canada. Illustrations featured are the creations of the folks that attended her workshop ‘Sketch by Sketch: connecting with the world through drawing’ in May 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/43e3421b-1483-4191-9169-620179b0f569/Signed_Travel_PonyTrek_Lesotho.jpg The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/6f74ca50-1912-494f-ba1e-72ae27f98cb1/image1.jpeg The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - These pieces were woven in Lesotho by women. There is a whole story because I think the Irish came with the government and - this was the same program that my parents did, and they helped the women make it more marketable so that people would buy the pieces. Years later I met someone in Vancouver and he knew these specific Irish nuns that had the women no longer put grass in the weaving. There is this element of colonizing and dictating the aesthetic but it is depicting this traditional village life, which some of it exists, some of it doesn’t. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/517a0fe4-2c70-4545-a949-aef0926d1a81/When+the+Ocean+Came+to+Town+-+Book+Cover.jpg The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - In the book When the Ocean Came to Town I chose to make the main character a black girl, someone who is black but it still looks like Nova Scotia. Because in Nova Scotia there are these very historic black communities that have been here for over 300 years but there is this environmental racism, they have been put to live in the worst places. It’s not overt but I would hope that if a child from one of those communities saw the book, they would see themselves as a protagonist in this positive story. But none of this is written down, this is just me putting a lot into it, I guess. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/e6d6cf13-5633-43c5-89d8-c2b69d77990f/Screenshot+2025-07-12+at+2.18.31%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Image from panel discussion about Elizabeth Bishop that took place in Halifax in March 2020. Courtesy of Emma FitzGerald. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/b6b7e1e1-51c9-4ba5-85c3-21b5e5391962/Pocket+of+Time+-+Spread.jpg The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/8de27022-09f4-4e7d-a4ce-1e9b0dac7a04/EveryBodysDifferent+Cover.jpg The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Yeah, this story was written quite a long time ago, maybe 2001 and back then it was so much more taboo to talk about mental health. I think on one hand there is this positive that by the time we did the actual trade book, it had become a little bit easier to talk about. At the same time, issues that compound with mental health, housing crisis, inequity, are just getting more and more difficult. It’s interesting when I go to schools in Halifax and I read the part about ‘some of us live in the park’. When I moved to Halifax there weren’t tent cities. I knew them from Vancouver and now it’s a common thing even with our cold winters. Honestly, sometimes I question, am I skilled enough to bring this up? Do I have a context and usually I ask: Who do you think in this page is living in the dark? The person who looks sad? The person in the window in the dark...? The blind person? Or the person in the park because they are feeling left out? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/3e57a84b-af15-4149-bfe5-ff8eaa5e96a9/Each+Peach+Pear+Plum+-+Book+Cover.jpg The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/25b15a2f-8426-4f40-b75e-f356189930cf/Sad+Book+-+Book+COver.jpg The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - I didn’t learn about this until I was an adult and was just starting to illustrate books. It was actually also Quentin Blake illustrations but the book is by a British poet called Michael Rosen. And it’s about his grief after his son died, when he was quite young. So interestingly, because Sheree ended up losing her son just before the book was published, Sad Book helped me understand that there can be lightness and the dark together. It’s giving people permission to feel sad and what a shared experience it is. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/f1a4b48e-cdcc-4be7-aa20-d089185e6360/Hand+Drawn+Halifax.jpg The Reading Journal - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Photo courtesy of Meghan Bangay Collins. https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/oiko-life monthly 0.5 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/f70ceccf-1885-4c0b-8386-47c442033784/Oiko%C3%A1+-+Book+Cover The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1751055010061-DREI6ML54AQVVTR8PXOK/Screenshot+2025-06-26+at+2.05.17%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1751055010809-G8GH6ZBIT4SDG2YYIUUK/Screenshot+2025-06-26+at+2.05.30%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1751055030299-FWH29QVUHS1Q11XI435V/Screenshot+2025-06-26+at+2.05.52%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1751055019410-KLATZX7NI5F6N1F62RE3/Screenshot+2025-06-26+at+2.05.37%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1751055051305-YA5ITRWJ81K962BSOHE4/Screenshot+2025-06-26+at+2.06.25%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1751055022522-TVEBGUYS89SVHYJ05P7Y/Screenshot+2025-06-26+at+2.05.45%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1751055033231-VA7MOYLRTVVDAZVQY27D/Screenshot+2025-06-26+at+2.06.02%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1751055045775-E1KO0PIQ8FYPFU8L0VJY/Screenshot+2025-06-26+at+2.06.19%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1751055038387-ROTDD5L1UVJ2ROP4PZ9F/Screenshot+2025-06-26+at+2.06.10%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - Oikoá ~ Life https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/spring-musings monthly 0.5 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/71237349-a9f9-41a9-95e0-d8d0b0dce187/OH+Card The Reading Journal - Spring Musings - Hi… I’m Marina. The human being behind Mama Reads. The Reading Journal is meant to be an extension of my life, my bookshelves, and my work. I want to embrace spontaneity and a healthy dose of imperfection. This space will expand from my Instagram posts @mama_reads_by_marina, which serves as a meeting place, a way of getting to know fellow creatives and seeing what they are up to. I look at Instagram as a tool for creative expression, a place of connection. I want to feel that gut warming spark of collaborations coming to life, with intention.. In this spirit, here’s a journal entry on Life Lately & Books Lately & Work Lately. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/32d6f4d7-04e0-4404-87d3-11386f987adf/IMG_6837_VSCO.jpg The Reading Journal - Spring Musings - Last month I traveled from San Miguel de Allende to Vancouver - and back. I stayed in a house that made me feel like I was literally cohabitating with books, these breathing living things calling me. So there I was and I couldn’t help but pull one out of the shelves, each time I walked by. The pile on the night table grew to an unsteady height. I started wondering how long I could stay. Do you ever feel as if days aren’t long enough, weeks too short, even a lifetime- too brief to allow us time to read all the books we want? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/7a923df7-581a-46d7-bab4-23876f5cd965/IMG_7268.jpeg The Reading Journal - Spring Musings - Each day Susan, looking cozy in her wool slippers- met us with a theme: fear, shame, anger, grief… and love. We hung our soaking wet jackets, kicked our muddy shoes off, took a couple of deep breaths, and twice a day for 3 hours at a time we sat in a circle, sharing our writings. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe. Sometimes, it takes that thought to keep the oxygen coming, because it’s just too hard to bear. https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/oh-the-plases-youll-go monthly 0.5 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/4f816d18-6631-48c4-bbc5-e19624138023/Oh%2C+the+Places+You%27ll+Go%21+-+Book+Cover.jpg The Reading Journal - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! - Here’s a little personal fact you might be surprised to hear: I didn’t read my first Dr. Seuss book until I was 18. At the time, I was in New York with my stepdad, Gene Johnson. I had just graduated high school and on my way to university, with some months in between. https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/hee8uemaq1imvwpttpczfoygvswxz2 monthly 0.5 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/46e478aa-bbbc-4ea9-8dbd-c55f97f6caa9/Night+Sky+Wheel+Ride+-+Sample+Page.jpg The Reading Journal - A Picture Book that is a Wild Ride https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/the-boy-from-the-sun-and-flowing-with-the-seasons monthly 0.5 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/66527b14-2313-40fb-9889-254471f4e6ca/Georgia+and+Treetops.jpg The Reading Journal - The Boy from the Sun, and Flowing with the Seasons Fascinating fact of life to realize: everything is constantly turning, becoming, aging, changing, transforming into something else – but essentially all small matters remain a part of the greater oneness on earth. Same but different. Re-arranged. We are currently re-arranging life. Once again packing into storage the little bits and pieces of our life. Soon we travel across the Coastal Mountains for a month-long family farm stay until our much further and long overdue journey to Brasil. One final remark before I get ahead of myself (in time and space) this post is about the beauty and balance between city and nature, shelter and outdoors. For a glimpse of Summer, here’s Akira, Madoka and Adam’s son, moments before he picked his first cherry tomato off the vine. The most handsome creation. An explorer, food lover, and bare-foot walker. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/6131a448-085f-42bb-a09d-1749ec92c1d4/Akira+in+the+Garden.jpg The Reading Journal - The Boy from the Sun, and Flowing with the Seasons - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/be357f21-038a-4524-968a-a0115622e29d/WhatsApp+Image+2026-03-25+at+15.38.50.jpeg The Reading Journal - The Boy from the Sun, and Flowing with the Seasons - Book: The Boy From the Sun Words & Pictures by: Duncan Weller Published: 2006, Simply Read Books (Canada) What it’s about: Three children sit in gloomy silence under a dark, oppressive cloud until a mysterious, golden boy appears. Through poetry and vibrant art, he guides them into a radiant, imaginative world that opens their eyes to beauty, wonder, and possibility. Themes: Imagination, Emotional Awareness, Nature, Inner Light, Transformation Recommended Ages: Great for 5–9 Canada Link https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/a-bit-lost monthly 0.5 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/17f73d18-5e88-42a0-93ce-798f835e6124/Screenshot+2026-03-25+at+3.51.50%E2%80%AFPM.png The Reading Journal - A Bit Lost (But Always Found) - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/0b9d15cc-4211-4856-8c0b-c775cd8bcefc/A+Bit+Lost+-+Book+Cover.jpg The Reading Journal - A Bit Lost (But Always Found) - This baby owl falls off her nest and can't find her momma. As simple as that. This book is about that feeling of being lost, or even worst, lost from our nest and mom. I mean, look at this baby owl... she's lost! https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/m-is-for-music monthly 0.5 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/efdf9f3b-b261-4944-bcb8-1e1a6de28459/The+Be+Good+Tanyas+-+Downtown+Vancouver.jpg The Reading Journal - A is for Accordion, Z is for Zither - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/3270d2df-df9a-4a9e-bfea-fc8e7b91e23e/M+is+for+Music+-+Book+Cover.jpg The Reading Journal - A is for Accordion, Z is for Zither M is for Music (2003) is written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated with collage and paint by Stacy Innerst. This book brings a musical choice of words to the alphabet. Every page is enriched by instruments, genres, artists, and qualities of sound. It goes like this: I is for interesting instrument (interval, intonation, improvisation) https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/iiiim monthly 0.5 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/c93ec291-fec5-4daa-977e-d7ec474aca8c/Ziiim+-+Book+Cover.jpg The Reading Journal - Ziiim… Saudades, Sunshine & Stories - The Summer kicked in...! Again, Vancouver reveals its diverse and excited population out and about on the streets. Three evenings this week we spent at the beach, napping under the sunshine, napping by the Sea. Georgia surely likes the Pacific waves and breeze. https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/if-i-were-a-lion monthly 0.5 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/43fb284f-956d-4937-948d-37d01b02e488/simon+cotton+candy.jpg The Reading Journal - If I Were a Lion (And Other Wild Wonderings) - Who doesn't love receiving gifts on the good old mail? A couple of days ago, I got startled by the door bell and an animated postman that yelled out:"Canada Post, I have a package for Georgia Brown." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/4f41602a-11c2-4a4e-89af-0da316025743/IMG_1394.jpeg The Reading Journal - If I Were a Lion (And Other Wild Wonderings) - Through the Coastal Mountains they traveled, and in a beautiful, quiet valley they settled. Their life is full of vibrant, everyday magic—healthy chickens in the yard, kids with endless energy, and gentle parenting that inspires me deeply. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/8cf0d1ec-03d3-457c-9f31-555ffb109f00/If+I+Were+a+Lion+-+Book+Cover.jpg The Reading Journal - If I Were a Lion (And Other Wild Wonderings) If I Were a Lion (For my U.S. readers, visit this link) begins with a fiery-haired little girl sitting in the dreaded time-out chair. Her mother says, “You try my patience, child! I do not like it when you're wild.” But this girl? She has something to say. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/11d91500-a8c1-4bfc-8798-a7bc6e584b12/If+I+Were+a+Lion+-+Book+Sample.jpg The Reading Journal - If I Were a Lion (And Other Wild Wonderings) - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/possum-magic-and-the-beauty-of-a-simple-life monthly 0.5 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/583dabee-153f-4f3b-a1e2-edf6bd7fe34d/Anik+and+Stu+Cawston.jpeg The Reading Journal - Possum Magic and the Beauty of a Simple Life - Make it stand out Photo by Stu Coleman. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/40257cbf-b302-4531-b621-3b1456e48789/Possum+Magic+-+Book+Cover.jpg The Reading Journal - Possum Magic and the Beauty of a Simple Life - Possum Magic, written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Julie Vivas, is a classic Australian picture book full of charm, curiosity, and love. The story follows Grandma Poss and her granddaughter Hush, who lives in the Australian bush. Grandma Poss has a few tricks up her sleeve—most notably, the ability to make Hush invisible. But one day, Hush decides she wants to be seen again. And so begins their quest across Australia, from Adelaide to Tasmania, in search of the human food that will bring her back. https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/category/Musings+on+Life monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/category/Book+Recommendation monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/category/Book+Review monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/category/Blog+Post monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/category/Interviews monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/picture+book monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/children%27s+books monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/summer+reads monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/alphabet+books monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/Brazilian+picture+book monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/bilingual+parenting monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/wild+animals monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/Dr.+Seuss monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/music+and+books monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/music monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/english monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/multigenerational+reading monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/portuguese monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/summertime monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/multicultural+stories monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/the-reading-journal/tag/personal+story monthly 0.5 https://www.mamareads.org/dialogues daily 0.75 2026-03-11 https://www.mamareads.org/dialogues/emmafitzgerald monthly 0.5 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/ef505e2c-2c99-48cb-b5a7-f9ae8e3f2b6a/IMG_7290.jpeg Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Emma at Hollyhock Retreat Centre, on Cortes Island, British Columbia, Canada. Illustrations featured are the creations of the folks that attended her workshop ‘Sketch by Sketch: connecting with the world through drawing’ in May 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/43e3421b-1483-4191-9169-620179b0f569/Signed_Travel_PonyTrek_Lesotho.jpg Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/6f74ca50-1912-494f-ba1e-72ae27f98cb1/image1.jpeg Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - These pieces were woven in Lesotho by women. There is a whole story because I think the Irish came with the government and - this was the same program that my parents did, and they helped the women make it more marketable so that people would buy the pieces. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. Years later I met someone in Vancouver and he knew these specific Irish nuns that had the women no longer put grass in the weaving. There is this element of colonizing and dictating the aesthetic but it is depicting this traditional village life, which some of it exists, some of it doesn’t. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/517a0fe4-2c70-4545-a949-aef0926d1a81/When+the+Ocean+Came+to+Town+-+Book+Cover.jpg Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald In the book When the Ocean Came to Town I chose to make the main character a black girl, someone who is black but it still looks like Nova Scotia. Because in Nova Scotia there are these very historic black communities that have been here for over 300 years but there is this environmental racism, they have been put to live in the worst places. It’s not overt but I would hope that if a child from one of those communities saw the book, they would see themselves as a protagonist in this positive story. But none of this is written down, this is just me putting a lot into it, I guess. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/e6d6cf13-5633-43c5-89d8-c2b69d77990f/Screenshot+2025-07-12+at+2.18.31%E2%80%AFPM.png Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Image from panel discussion about Elizabeth Bishop that took place in Halifax in March 2020. Courtesy of Emma FitzGerald. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/b6b7e1e1-51c9-4ba5-85c3-21b5e5391962/Pocket+of+Time+-+Spread.jpg Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/8de27022-09f4-4e7d-a4ce-1e9b0dac7a04/EveryBodysDifferent+Cover.jpg Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - E: Yeah, this story was written quite a long time ago, maybe 2001 and back then it was so much more taboo to talk about mental health. I think on one hand there is this positive that by the time we did the actual trade book, it had become a little bit easier to talk about. At the same time, issues that compound with mental health, housing crisis, inequity, are just getting more and more difficult. It’s interesting when I go to schools in Halifax and I read the part about ‘some of us live in the park’. When I moved to Halifax there weren’t tent cities. I knew them from Vancouver and now it’s a common thing even with our cold winters. Honestly, sometimes I question, am I skilled enough to bring this up? Do I have a context and usually I ask: Who do you think in this page is living in the dark? The person who looks sad? The person in the window in the dark...? The blind person? Or the person in the park because they are feeling left out? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/3e57a84b-af15-4149-bfe5-ff8eaa5e96a9/Each+Peach+Pear+Plum+-+Book+Cover.jpg Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/25b15a2f-8426-4f40-b75e-f356189930cf/Sad+Book+-+Book+COver.jpg Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald I didn’t learn about this until I was an adult and was just starting to illustrate books. It was actually also Quentin Blake illustrations but the book is by a British poet called Michael Rosen. And it’s about his grief after his son died, when he was quite young. So interestingly, because Sheree ended up losing her son just before the book was published, Sad Book helped me understand that there can be lightness and the dark together. It’s giving people permission to feel sad and what a shared experience it is. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/f1a4b48e-cdcc-4be7-aa20-d089185e6360/Hand+Drawn+Halifax.jpg Dialogues - Featured Artist: Emma FitzGerald - Make it stand out Photo courtesy of Meghan Bangay Collins. https://www.mamareads.org/home daily 1.0 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1744904851273-CI07UAY7VHGO5UCDJTT4/unsplash-image-2JIvboGLeho.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618511387030-5LI1E5QMVTQ2RY9S00A4/20140228_Trade+151_0046+1.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/d10496e7-3244-4320-901c-89345fbf46f0/IMG_0883.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/e5dce74f-348c-479a-ac53-ed5fc89f39cc/1F78797A-9A30-460F-97B5-80D658AA7B17_1_201_a.jpeg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/2a030ea2-75a4-4d92-8af3-b43d160f84be/IMG_9107.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/e7b04489-8c01-4a2a-87c4-70e73900c674/W4hatsApp+Image+2025-06-08+at+10.15.56.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/e44c228b-6bb8-4001-a84c-39f07fda8ec2/33A3BCD9-2EA0-4176-8C48-32479042F020_1_105_c.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/c0d15916-991b-4794-9d26-19d5305cb25c/WhatsApp+Image+20255-06-08+at+10.15.59.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/20d1efeb-4cdf-4b02-bad4-033cfe79c96e/simon+and+cotton+candy.jpg https://www.mamareads.org/contact daily 0.75 2025-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/66839635-9ac1-41fe-b24d-ca0be1665d55/DSC_0625.webp https://www.mamareads.org/about daily 0.75 2026-02-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/b108ccd7-d7f1-4f2e-b967-ce942a5ea88a/Revista+Klaxon+-+Imagem+2.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/a11a7e94-67e5-4ad2-83a4-10fd3187d4a5/WhatsApp+Image+2025-04-30+at+13.34.07.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/bce23d4f-57f8-43d9-ac8f-4b6fac5e0c58/Fernando+Pessoa+-+Drawing.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/d23de93f-eb7c-4b9a-bcae-fe647082c719/Anna+Carries+Water+-+Book+Cover.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/5f71f42e-5ff8-4f96-bf3e-36943b64918d/SAN_MIGUEL_2014_19.jpg123014.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/abeb6a72-1752-45f8-9565-e074928d27eb/Collage_By_Marina.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/5b2184e9-3312-409c-af99-4f2801d5ee76/WhatsApp+Image+20255-06-08+at+10.15.59.jpeg https://www.mamareads.org/services daily 0.75 2026-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/711734b6-ed74-4b23-abe3-1e92460592f9/IMG_9103.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/5b2184e9-3312-409c-af99-4f2801d5ee76/WhatsApp+Image+20255-06-08+at+10.15.59.jpeg https://www.mamareads.org/studio daily 0.75 2025-10-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1760245430298-N5UM14A5CSSJOIPIADKQ/unsplash-image-PKEPAeMBOIU.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1760245620761-Q0OGW96XZPMQTXDRXI2A/unsplash-image-DadxVNgdRSM.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1760245335938-2DVKCUUS2SNCLCXIMG73/unsplash-image-0fN7Fxv1eWA.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/1760245277908-V76O2NGM0SQKNKKBV6HE/unsplash-image-JMATuFkXeHU.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680097a2d99d87662bd268e3/6a93cbf8-b96b-4e92-a389-4934fe74a0dc/DSC_1013.jpeg https://www.mamareads.org/portfolio daily 0.75 2026-03-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/12b78168-2315-4f98-a8bd-b10249afd78e/imgg-demo-pjdSe5Ti.png https://www.mamareads.org/portfolio/project-four-l3zw3-dk9py-xcmem-llk7k-cnfna-gf8n3 monthly 0.5 2025-09-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1756825711319-L2FCW5K2C3L6L4MY8XXA/imgg-demo-ENjOSIkh.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1756825711323-SYUW67EX4YEMSM5NTXCM/imgg-demo-EzhmSujY.png https://www.mamareads.org/portfolio/project-three-sng7y-jkgxx-kmlk5-rslaw-j2h5a-436rw monthly 0.5 2025-09-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1756825711533-NZAOJZPOZ97V6E3OG86D/imgg-demo-EzhmSujY.png Portfolio - 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