Writing a Non-Stupid Kids' Book Is Harder Than it Looks

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Writing a Non-Stupid Kids' Book Is Harder Than it Looks

How many times have you read a six-page children's book at bedtime (to your kid or to yourself—no judgments) and thought, "I could've done that." But of course, like any work that seems simple but manages to linger for years, decades, centuries: It's not all that easy. At least, not in that head-slapping, any-idiot-could-do-that way.  Writing a good children's book, especially one that survives generation after generation (not to mention sells millions of copies), takes a certain kind of genius. Granted, the really bad ones are pretty easy to write. (Ever see the Tonka Chuck & Friends book series? A cute blue tow-truck with absolutely no insight or wit about anything does not a great narrator make.) In any event, the ultimate kids'-book-that-looks-easy would have to be Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown's 1947 meditation on bedtime, and on all the things kids notice around them as they drift off to sleep. The first time I read it I thought, what's the big deal about this book?

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Remembering Elisabeth Bing, the Natural-Birth Coach Who Yelled "Get Me an Epidural!"

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Remembering Elisabeth Bing, the Natural-Birth Coach Who Yelled "Get Me an Epidural!"

Two years ago today, Elisabeth Bing, author of the guide "Six Practical Lessons for an Easier Childbirth," died at the age of 100. The Economist's obituary describes her as a "pioneer of prepared childbirth" for her efforts to make childbirth as joyous and pain-free as humanly possible. When she was working as a nurse in the U.S. in the 1930s, women in labor gave birth one of two ways: with no drugs and no preparation at all, or else totally zonked on morphine. Bing wanted to prep women to experience the sensations of the birth process in a way that felt manageable and beautiful, even relaxing. (In "Six Practical Lessons," she also advised women to bring a bottle of Champagne to the hospital; we like you already, Nurse Bing.)

Bing played a pivotal role in popularizing the Lamaze methods in America, and she helped legions of women stateside learn breathing techniques that would make natural childbirth less brutal. Her guide went so far as to replace every instance of the word "pain" with "waves." Ironically,

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Let's Give Gwen Stefani and Her Pregnancy-or-Not a Break, Ok?

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Let's Give Gwen Stefani and Her Pregnancy-or-Not a Break, Ok?

Presidential intrigues, climate catastrophes, high-level scandals everywhere we turn: Somehow no matter how explosive the headlines, they can't bump out spurious rumors about celebrity bumps. The "is she or isn't she pregnant?" stories are even more incessant when a celeb is in the no-spring-chicken category (exhibit A: The neverending baby-bump rumors that Jennifer Aniston has to deal with). Now the Internet is combusting over whether 47-year-old Gwen Stefani is or is not, or is about to get or not about to get, pregnant with Blake Shelton's baby. 

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Most of America's Maternal Deaths Are Preventable: Here's a Crucial Symptom to Watch Out For

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Most of America's Maternal Deaths Are Preventable: Here's a Crucial Symptom to Watch Out For

I'm filing this under "facts I'm glad I didn't know about before I gave birth." According to this ProPublica article, "The Last Person You'd Expect to Die in Childbirth," the U.S. has the highest maternal death rate of any developing country. And the rate is going up, while in other countries it's going down. What's the problem? 

"The reasons for higher maternal mortality in the U.S. are manifold," write ProPublica authors Nina Martin and Renee Montagne (also of NPR). "New mothers are older than they used to be, with more complex medical histories. Half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, so many women don’t address chronic health issues beforehand. Greater prevalence of C-sections leads to more life-threatening complications. The fragmented health system makes it harder for new mothers, especially those without good insurance, to get the care they need. Confusion about how to recognize worrisome symptoms and treat obstetric emergencies makes caregivers more prone to error."

The devastating examples of maternal deaths in the article involve new moms in their early 30s (not older moms), and the stories of how dangerous symptoms went unrecognized even in supposedly high-quality, top-rated hospitals are terrifying. Of the U.S.'s 700-900 annual maternal deaths (and whopping 65,000 near-deaths), 60 % are preventable, the article reports. One crucially important takeaway from the story

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Jimmy Kimmel's Baby for President

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Jimmy Kimmel's Baby for President

Warning: If you're out and about right now and you hate crying in public, don't watch this Jimmy Kimmel bit about his newborn son's open-heart surgery. I first watched it on YouTube on my phone while walking down the sidewalk (I know, that sucks and I won't do it again, promise). I couldn't stop the tears in time to hide indoors, and I'm definitely someone who gets mortified at public waterworks. The story that Kimmel, 50, tells about what he, his wife Molly McNearney (she's 39), and their newborn baby went through ripped me apart. I hope it'll do the same for members of Congress who are hell-bent on signing the horrifying Trumpcare bill.

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Where the Air Is Sweet: Sesame Street's New Character, Julia, Has Autism

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Where the Air Is Sweet: Sesame Street's New Character, Julia, Has Autism

The banged-up old Sesame Street records my parents put on for my brother and me when we were kids are sitting on my Brooklyn shelf, their covers so chafed you can't read the spines anymore. But the vinyl still plays, crackly but clear as ever. Whenever I put the LPs on for my kids, I can't get that "ABC-DEF-GHI" song--where Big Bird turns the entire alphabet into one giant word-- out of my head for days. I end up humming the tunes the entire rest of the week. In adult company. Mortifying. The kids don't yet have much in the way of a visual experience of Sesame Street, and we keep waiting for the right time to start in on that slippery-slope "TV shows" phase of their lives. But the recent news about Sesame Street makes me think the time is now. The show is introducing a new character named Julia, who has autism, as part of the regular gang. 

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