Who what why?

Your essential questions answered….

There is a real person behind bloggers. With feelings, thoughts, people who they connect with IRL on a daily basis, as well as online. It’s normal to want to know more about the person behind the text so read on…

Who?

I’m Jan, writer, blogger, reviewer, mother, believes in encouraging critical thinking in literature for children whilst enjoying developing their literacy.

I’m Jan, middle ager, frustrated creative, business builder by day, often lost for words by the time it’s night.

I’m Jan. I’ll always give my honest thoughts, and I’ll try and frame it so its critically appropriate and useful, not just wishy washy wordy padding.

I’m Jan. Sometimes I have pink hair. Sometimes I bake cakes. Most times, I long to read or write in peace and quiet.

Sometimes, my kids or guest authors/bloggers will write for this site. Be nice to them, they do it because they want to not because they have to or get paid to.

What?

Reviews, Commentary, Critique, Creative Problem Solving in action, Notes on what inspired my children….Let’s see where this goes and evolve as we can.

This part of of the website is about reviews, however if you want to know more about my writing and publishing head here for the Mitch and Mooch series and here for more information about other books in the pipeline.

“Some say they get lost in books, but I find myself, again and again, in the pages of a good book. Humanly speaking, there is no greater teacher, no greater therapist, no greater healer of the soul, than a well-stocked library.” – L.R.Knost

Why?

When was the last time you got lost in a book? It’s harder than you think when modern life is so busy, social media so demanding, and there is always the grass to be mown or dishes to clean. And yet, there is something incredibly satisfying about being transported into another world, why do we not make more time for that? To get lost in a tale. It’s not so hard to see why people are fixated upon drama series or reality TV shows when we all yearn to forget about our lives for a short while and examine someone elses’. Maybe even fantasise about being that person, living that lifestyle…

However, we lose something if we don’t allow our imagination to play a part in this escape. On the TV you have no control over what happens next – it’s spoon fed to you in the next scene or episode (although that said, the next generation of TV will allow us to make our own storylines). Granted, a book might also take you down its own narrative path but how that looks in your minds’ eye, how its set, how you feel about it are all entirely down to your imagination.

For children, if you spoon feed this ready-made scenario into their heads without encouraging them to analyse it then we risk breeding a generation of believers without imagination. They become adults who don’t question the world around them, accepting of what is visible in front of them as the truth. Children’s literacy is so vital to their rounded development that without the constant drive by teachers and like minded parents to stimulate this imagination, the next generation of free thinkers, idealists and creative problem solvers is threatened.

#zerotohero #escapeintoatale