About Me

My Grandmother and I - A Formative Intergenerational Relationship

Who am I and Why Do I Blog?

A former social services case manager in a Long Term Care facility, current children’s librarian and member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators, I have the unique opportunity to serve people who span the generations. Using children’s literature and writing as my vehicles, I strive to help people across the generations more fully understand and appreciate each other.

When I asked a child at the library what he thinks when he hears the word “old,” he pointed to a woman with white hair and said, “They all look like that.”  This answer spurred me to develop the intergenerational program Pages Across the Ages: An Intergenerational Reading and Writing Exchange. 

In the study “Building Bridges-An Intergenerational Program,” Human Development Specialist Nina Chen notes children who have limited interactions with older adults “perceive older people as having gray hair, wrinkles, being unable to do anything, and sick.”  I strive to combat this limiting perception of aging and invite you to join us in this endeavor.  This blog will highlight my program, Pages Across the Ages and encourage you to overcome generational boundaries.

Pages Across the Ages is the most successful of all of my intergenerational programs.  Residents of a retirement community are paired with young library patrons as reading buddies and pen pals.  Adults are delighted to read children’s classics like Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  They share life lessons with their young partners drawn from these books, while the children share their own refreshing responses.  This blog will showcase excerpts from these poignant letter-exchanges.

In her blog, author Esme Codell, says of my work:  “Even though she's a spring chicken herself, she reminds us of the importance of intergenerational programming in libraries, and that age is something to celebrate.”  (http://planetesme.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html). 

I hope this blog will inspire you to celebrate age as well!