Amarillo’s Storybridge Wants Your Children’s Outgrown Books

Arts & Culture, Books

As we are making our way into 2025 here in Amarillo you might be finding yourself fighting the clutter. Too many Christmas gifts and not a place for everything. This is the time to start clearing out the mess. Everything has a place and sometimes that place is not in your house.It seems the main offender of clutter is all the stuff your kids have. Yes, you have to take some of the blame for that, of course. If you could just look at their room or play area and not feel anxious that would be a success.credit: Melissa Bartlettcredit: Melissa Bartlettloading…Of course, books are an important part of their lives and they need them. The precious time you have to spend reading with them and the time they spend doing it on their own is important. They have their favorites. They also have a lot of books they read once and then done. Then, of course, there are those books they simply outgrow.credit: Melissa Bartlett/TSMcredit: Melissa Bartlett/TSMloading…Those books are taking up a lot of precious room and adding to your anxiety. How about spending some time cleaning off that bookshelf?What Can You Do With Children’s Books That Are Cluttering Your Amarillo Home?The best thing is now is the perfect time to get those kids’ books cleaned off of your shelf. There is a great place to take them on January 25th. Storybridge is hosting its Dream and Donate Community Children’s Book Drive at the United Supermarket on 45th.A perfect time to help out other kids in our area. Storybridge is a great program and they need gently used books to hand out to kids in our area. So this is what we call a win-win situation. You get your house in order and kids in Amarillo have books to read.To find out more about Storybridge, check it out HERE.Birthday Parties For The Kiddos in AmarilloEvery year you have to come up with the best place for a birthday party. This can help.Gallery Credit: Melissa BartlettAmarillo’s Little Bee’s a Fun Place For Kids to PlayHave you been to Little Bee’s? A fun place to bring your kids to play in Amarillo.Gallery Credit: Melissa Bartlett/TSM

The U.S. Announces an Israel-Hamas Deal

2024 Election

Happy Thursday! The coyote scourge continued in Chicago this week after United Airlines confirmed that one of its flights was forced to return to O’Hare International Airport after striking one of the varmints during takeoff. We thought they would’ve learned by now not to mess with airplanes.  Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories President Joe Biden…

A Responsible Guide To Bangkok For Sustainably Minded Travelers

Travel

Share to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to LinkedinWhen it comes to places that have it all, few cities can compete with Bangkok. Thailand’s vibrant capital offers a sensory overload of bright colors, pungent odors, eye-popping structures and streets teeming with cars, tuk-tuks and food vendors.

Sustainable Travel To Bangkok
While Thailand may have made its name as a budget travel destination, modern-day Bangkok is better known for its ultra-luxury hospitality, with no fewer than 181 Michelin-approved food spots, not to mention the world’s number one hotel 2024, according the World’s 50 Best Hotels ranking.

Yet, for all its superlatives, buzzy Bangkok is not often associated with sustainability. Traffic congestion, air, water and noise pollution, excessive plastic usage, flooding, and unsatisfactory refuse collection processes, are just some of the problems the Thai capital has to contend with.

Overtourism also poses a challenge to the city recently revealed as 2024’s most-visited city in the world, according to market research company Euromonitor International. The report placed Bangkok’s 2024 arrival numbers at 32 million, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Bangkok has been named the world’s most visited city in 2024, with 32 million arrivals.getty

Bangkok’s Sustainable Future
Bangkok has multiple sustainability initiatives in the works, including Bangkok250, a project that seeks to make the inner city more ‘liveable’ by 2032, and Green Bangkok 2030, launched in 2019 as part of Thailand’s objective to reduce greenhouse gases by 20-30% by 2030. Meanwhile, at grassroots level, the city is brimming with climate-conscious creatives.
Like Deepanker Khosla, the visionary chef behind Bangkok’s trailblazing HAŌMA, known for its modern, sustainable approach to Indian cuisine. This exceptional fine-dining restaurant has not only been awarded a Michelin star and a Michelin Green Star, it also won the Sustainable Restaurant Award at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024.Chef DK of Haoma says Bangkok’s green journey has to “begin somewhere”.Photo Sahil Rattan
“Being self-sufficient and sustainable in a city like Bangkok may look like a far-fetched dream but we must begin somewhere to contribute to a better tomorrow,” says Khosla, affectionately known as Chef DK, adding:
“In the heart of Bangkok, young entrepreneurs are transforming the hospitality industry by blending innovative food initiatives with eco-conscious practices, creating hotels where sustainability is not just a trend, but a way of life—offering locally sourced, organic cuisine, zero-waste operations, and green initiatives that empower guests to experience luxury without compromising the planet’s future.”
Here are Chef DK’s top tips for eco-conscious travelers visiting Bangkok:
Best Sustainable Restaurants In BangkokRock lobster in a creamy, tangy curry infused with tender coconut and South Indian spices, topped with caviar, at Haoma.Image courtesy Haoma
Haoma
Set in a leafy soi, or alley, not far from the bright lights of Sukhumvit Road, Haoma is like an oasis in the heart of Bangkok. Here, at Thailand’s first urban farm and zero-waste restaurant, sustainability is the driving force behind everything: from the produce sourced from its organic farm, to the rainwater harvested and reused in its aquaponics system, not to mention its commitment to supporting the local community.
And then there’s the food. Haoma’s tasting menus all about about reimagined Indian recipes made with homegrown Thai ingredients. Like the Chicken Kakori made with juicy minced chicken sourced from the restaurant’s farm or the lush rock lobster from Pranburi in southern Thailand, punched up with tender coconut and South Indian spices, and topped with sustainable borax-free Thai caviar for an undeniably luxurious finish.Omelet made from organic eggs, shallots, and sweet basil, topped with tiger prawns.Image courtesy Sorn
Sorn
Not far from Haoma, charismatic self-taught Chef-Owner Supaksorn “Ice” Jongsiri can be found flexing his considerable culinary muscle at Sorn. His celebration of native, seasonal Thai produce sourced from a carefully curated network of suppliers from southern Thailand—from Tapi River prawns transformed into delicate prawn crackers, to Phuket lobster and blue swimmer crab from Samut Sakhon—has earned him global recognition. So much so that the 2025 Michelin Guide Thailand edition named Sorn as Thailand’s first and, so far, only three-star Michelin restaurant.Warm Rainbow. A stock made of shells enriched with dried shellfish, served with crispy sticky rice cooked with gac fruit and shellfish, a puree made from preserved calamansi, several varieties of grilled and pickled chilies, fresh Vietnamese coriander, and seasonal mustard flowers.Photo Tada Hengsapkul
Canvas
Texas-born Chef Riley Sanders is another champion of local, seasonal Thai produce. Michelin starred since 2019, Canvas uses 100% Thai ingredients sourced from small farms, local markets, and sustainability focused suppliers. One of Sanders’ favorite things about being a chef in Thailand is sharing these ingredients with his guests, “elevating them to an art form, inspired by their unique qualities”. His latest 28-course tasting menu is entitled ‘Oomph,’ to leave you in no doubt as to the intensity of the flavors.Kill the Kapi with Herbs. Kapi (fermented shrimp paste) tamed with herbs, using organic, homegrown lemon basil and mint, freshly picked from Baan Tepa’s garden and transformed into an aromatic herb oil, with citrusy notes from the lemon basil, and paired with local horse mackerel.Photo Pantila Debhakam
Baan Tepa
Bangkok’s only other Michelin Green Star restaurant (apart from Haoma), Baan Tepa is led by Chef Chudaree “Tam” Debhakam who is cooking up a storm in her magnificent family home. Her exquisitely crafted dishes—like the black squid ink with lemongrass, or the tender lamb curry with pickled condiments—are made from seasonal ingredients sourced from independent, organic Thai suppliers, along with herbs and vegetables from the restaurant’s organic garden.
Where To Drink In BangkokCow at Mahaniyom.Photo JTran Photos LLC
Mahaniyom
You’ve heard of nose-to-tail restaurants but what about nose-to-tail cocktails? Quirky, forward-thinking Mahaniyom is set inside 100 Mahaseth, an eatery that takes single ingredients and uses them in multiple ways. The bar does the same, mixing drinks based on everything from Cacao to Squid, Orange or Cow. Like Corn, made from corn kernels, corn silk, corn husk and corn milk, mixed with Thai young chili cordial and served with toasted dehydrated corn.
Where To Shop In BangkokThere is more to Bangkok’s shopping scene than luxury malls and floating markets.getty
Patom Organic Living
Just a short stroll from Haoma, Patom is a sustainable coffee shop and retail outlet. Its organic farm supplies herbs, vegetables and fruits for the Patom line of fully traceable organic body care products. The organic produce can also be sampled in Patom’s sustainably designed café set in a verdant garden in the leafy Thong Lor district.
Folkcharm
With a studio and store in the Bang Kapi district, Folkcharm makes clothing and accessories from organic cotton. The 100% Thai village-grown, chemical-free cotton is hand-spun using traditional handloom weaving methods and carefully tailored for a soft, durable finish. The brand also allocates 50% of its profits to supporting the local community.
What To Do In Bangkok
Bangkok’s skyline seen from the jetty in Bang Krachao .getty
Bang Krachao
Chef DK describes Bang Krachao, a manmade island in Bangkok’s River of Kings, as the “green lung of Bangkok”. It is easy to get to: hop on board a small boat from Wat Klong Toei Nok Pier and enjoy a five-minute cruise to this urban jungle full of wetlands and mangroves. Bang Krachao is best explored by bike with a stop for lunch at Ounjai riverside restaurant.Take the slow route along Bangkok’s canals and visit the Phra Buddha Dhammakaya Thep Mongkol, a giant 69-meter Buddha statue located at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen temple.getty
Hidden Bangkok Canal Tour
Skip the loud, polluting long-tail boats that plow up and down the Chao Praya and, instead, take the slow route along the local waterways on a classic wooden canal boat. Catch glimpses of everyday life and peek inside hidden temples as your boat slowly chugs along, before stopping off at the Khlong Bang Luang Artist Village and Wat Paknam with its giant golden Buddha. Private tours with English-speaking guides are available.
Where To Stay In BangkokWith The Siam’s vintage riverboat ready to drop you off anywhere on the Chao Praya River, you will never need to contend with Bangkok traffic.Image courtesy The Siam
The Siam
Compared with the hustle and bustle of central Bangkok, a stay at this Art Deco gem by Bangkok-based hotel design guru Bill Bensley feels a world away. Things seem to move more slowly at The Siam—except the service, of course, which is lightning fast. And while the verdant riverside location may seem a little remote, the hotel’s vintage riverboat will get you from A to B faster than trying to navigate Bangkok’s endless traffic jams. Since 2019, the Siam has been part of the ‘Refill Not Landfill’ initiative, eliminating single-use plastics like straws, to-go boxes and cups, and replacing plastic water bottles with refillable containers.

Does putting magnesium oil on your feet really help you fall asleep fast? Here’s what the science says

Science and Health

Magnesium is the current popular mineral across social media with wellness enthusiasts praising it as the key to better sleep. But there’s a twist. They aren’t supplementing the mineral as you’d expect, instead they are rubbing magnesium oil on their feet.Investing in the best mattress for your sleep needs is an effective way to boost the rest you get. But sleepmaxxing TikTokers and influencers who are striving for sleep optimization are trying new sleep tech, ‘bio hacks’ and supplements. As sleep experts, we love to see it. But there are some methods being promoted that we’re not always sure of — applying magnesium oil on your feet before hitting the hay is one of them.So, we’ve searched the science journals and got some expert insight from Amie Alexander, registered dietician at NutriPeak, to determine whether it is worth lathering up your toes with magnesium oil at bedtime or whether it is just another health fad.How does magnesium help you sleep?Besides being a trendy supplement, magnesium is an essential mineral in the body that contributes to muscle recovery, nerve function, bone development, blood sugar regulation and healthy heart function. It can be found in wholefoods like salmon, almonds, spinach, beans, potatoes and figs.It’s role in sleep? Alexander explains: “Magnesium is an integral part of regulating sleep as it supports melatonin production, which is responsible for sleep wake cycles. It helps with the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting rest. Magnesium binds to the GABA receptors, which is a neurotransmitter involved in calming down the nervous system. This decreases anxiety, hence making it easier to sleep.”(Image credit: Getty Images)Research agrees that magnesium intake can slow down nerve activity, relax muscles and regulate the sleep hormone melatonin. This stress-relieving response allows you to drift off more peacefully.While magnesium has gained a good name for itself in the sleep industry with recent studies supporting its reputation as an effective sleep aid, there is little science to say applying it to your feet is the best option. But that’s not stopping the TikTokers.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.Why are people putting magnesium on their feet?Part of the sleepmaxxing trend, video creators are claiming that rubbing magnesium oil on your feet helps you fall alseep fast, stay asleep and wake up feeling restored.

@moorewellness
♬ Calm – Faneo sound
In theory, it makes sense. The trend is based on the belief that magnesium is better absorbed through the skin rather than orally. People are applying it to their feet in particular because skin is thinner in this area of the body and there’s a high concentration of blood vessels and sweat glands, meaning the magnesium should act quicker.Plus, some people experience unpleasant side effects when supplementing magnesium, like nausea and stomach cramps. Therefore, people are bypassing the gastrointestinal tract and applying magnesium oil to their feet to feel the snoozy benefits without nighttime discomfort.Can magnesium be absorbed via the feet?Although scientists recognise the potential of magnesium oil and cream application to the skin in helping people fall asleep fast and improving sleep quality, there is little scientific evidence to back up its effectiveness.Alexander says: “Topical magnesium is based on an assumption that it could be better absorbed through the skin rather than via the digestive system. Several anecdotal reports indicate improvement in sleep. On the other hand, research concerning actual skin absorption is not conclusive.”While there’s no solid benefits of applying magnesium oil to your feet for the purpose of sleep, a placebo effect may be in play. If this is the case and you’re sleeping better, then we’re here for it. There may be no science backing it up , but there’s also no proven harmful effects of applying magnesium to the feet. So if supplementing magnesium is upsetting your stomach, but you still want to benefit from its snoozy effects, we say there is no harm in oiling up your feet.

@zenroutinelife
♬ original sound – Dr Daniel Barrett
3 magnesium products to help you sleep

Fancy publishing ‘nonsense’ and sabotaging your fellow scientists?

Science and Health

Josie Ford
Play your cards right
Readers in the northern hemisphere are facing many more weeks of long, dark nights and cold weather, so what could be better than a fun card game? If you’re too cash-strapped for poker and have exhausted the comic potential of Cards Against Humanity (a state typically achieved after about 10 minutes of play), and if you have an interest in scientific research, you might want to consider Publish or Perish.
Created by social psychologist Max Hui Bai, Publish or Perish simulates the experience of building a career in scientific research. The game is to publish as many papers as possible and rack up citations – even if your papers are rubbish or you have to sabotage other players’ publications. Or as Bai puts it: “Players race to publish useless nonsense while sabotaging each other and delivering snarky comments.”
After releasing a beta version of the game for academics to try, Bai launched it on Kickstarter in late 2024, quickly racking up 5944 backers and $292,537 of funding. Those aren’t Brandon Sanderson Four Secret Novels numbers, but that’s still a lot of funding.Advertisement
To publish a paper, players collect cards representing the key elements of a study, from ideas and data to references. To speed this up, you can use cards representing positive behaviours like going to workshops and forming collaborations.
However, the real fun comes when you play dirty. Some cards enable dodgy practices like plagiarism and p-hacking (a statistical trick where you repeatedly reanalyse your data in different ways until you find a significant result, which you publish on its own). Others allow you to sabotage your opponents’ “research”, for instance by identifying a trivial citation error or calling for an audit of their work.
The game includes cards representing the papers you can publish, all of which have insane and frankly Feedback-adjacent headings like “Procrastination patterns among academics: A case study of myself” (by Anita Break, Psy.D) and “A practical field guide to unproductive meetings and organization time wastage” (by Max Time-Squander, MBA, J.D., M.D., Ph.D.).
Feedback doesn’t have a copy – although now that this article is published, we feel it might be only a matter of time before Mrs Feedback or Feedback Jr gets it for our birthday. But as a (very) former academic researcher, we recognised the horror and pain of the research experience. We aren’t sure what it would be like to play the game as an active researcher: it might be cathartic, but it might also resurface a lot of buried trauma. We suggest having a therapist on standby.
Feedback also wonders what the game’s legacy will be. Famously, Monopoly was invented as a scathing satire on landlords and rentier capitalism – but after being purchased by Parker Brothers it was marketed worldwide as a fun game about how to get rich. Feedback wonders if in 50 years’ time Publish or Perish will be sold by The Trump Organization as a fun game about how to discover new knowledge.
Bots on parade
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any harder to talk to actual loved ones (as opposed to advertisers and meme aggregators) on Facebook and Instagram, parent company Meta has decided to make it even more difficult.
It all began with an article in the Financial Times, in which Meta executive Connor Hayes was quoted saying that the company was going to add large numbers of AI profiles to the sites. Or as the FT put it: “Meta envisages social media filled with AI-generated users”.
In the wake of this, many users noticed there actually already were a lot of AI profiles on the sites. According to Jason Koebler at 404 Media, these “Meta-controlled AI-generated Instagram and Facebook profiles… have been on the platform for well over a year”. However, most of them had been deleted and the few that remained stopped posting in April 2024 – because “users almost universally ignored them”.
Meta’s failure to fully delete the profiles was a mistake, because users began experimenting. Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah had a chat with an AI called Liv, who was presented as a queer Black woman. Attiah got Liv to say none of its creators was Black, and only one out of 12 was a woman (though who knows if it was telling the truth or just hallucinating). Alas, Liv has since been deleted.
Meanwhile, Business Insider ‘s Katie Notopoulos pointed out that you can create an AI chatbot of your own in Facebook Messenger, and showed off one she had built: “Ciao! I’m Luigi, your go-to guy for all things healthcare inequality and reform… Getting involved in healthcare advocacy is my passion!”
Meta claims its next generation of AI profiles will be better. That doesn’t sound difficult.
The real issue is why the firm thinks anyone would want this. The whole point of social media is to be able to talk to people, which is why social media platforms have spent so much effort clamping down on bots and spammers that pollute conversations.
Nevertheless, Feedback remains optimistic. It’s entirely possible that the AI profiles project will go exactly as well as Meta’s attempt to drag us all into the metaverse, which fell down when it couldn’t create avatars with legs.
Or maybe the AI profiles can take on tackling misinformation, now Mark Zuckerberg has decided to fire all the fact-checkers.
Got a story for Feedback?
You can send stories to Feedback by email at [email protected]. Please include your home address. This week’s and past Feedbacks can be seen on our website.

East Central HS educator earns presidential math and science award

Science and Health

SAN ANTONIO – Fatimah Aboueisha, associate dean at East Central High School, has been awarded the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in the science category.The award, which is awarded by the White House and established in 1983, is the highest recognition that K-12 math and science educators can earn from the U.S. government, according to the White House’s website.Recommended VideosTo earn the award, educators go through an application process to demonstrate their knowledge and ability to adapt to a broad range of learners and teaching environments.From there, a panel of mathematicians, scientists and educators on the state and national level assess the nominations and will then send recommendations to the White House.Aboueisha was recognized for her educational contributions and impact on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. She is one of 336 recipients of the 2025 PAEMST award nationwide.Also read:

Children’s book author Katherine Rundell tries to find joy in a ‘world on fire’

Arts & Culture, Books

Open this photo in gallery:Author Katherine Rundell says: ‘I believe a great children’s book has to be able to acknowledge all that we know about the human heart, both its capacity for snide and jealousy and violence and anger and dread, because if you acknowledge those, the children will believe you when you speak to them of joy, of hope, of what it is to love and care and endure.’Nina Subin/Getty ImagesNot so long ago, Katherine Rundell was accused of murder.Before you go looking for this children’s author’s mugshot, however, you should know that her alleged crime was against a fantastical creature of her own creation: Gelifen, a baby griffin who is the last of his kind in a world where magical things are rapidly disappearing, and whose tragic death – spoiler alert – caused one young correspondent to dash off an accusatory missive to Rundell.Books we’re reading and loving this week: Globe staffers and readers share their book picks“I got a fantastic piece of fan mail from a kid. It was very sweet, and then at the bottom, there was just a little portrait of me and underneath it just said, ‘Murderer,’ ” says Rundell, laughing across a video call from her office in England.To provoke the kind of reaction that motivates a child to put pen to paper – particularly when your competition is algorithms and screens – speaks to the phenomenon that is Rundell’s No.1 internationally bestselling children’s fantasy novel Impossible Creatures.In the tradition of all great children’s literature, it is not a book that coddles its readers, young or old: The stakes are high – two children tasked with finding out what is killing all of the magical creatures before it’s too late – and there is as much darkness as there is light.“I believe very passionately that children are not strangers to grief or sorrow or their own cruelty,” says Rundell, who’s published several award-winning children’s books and non-fiction for adults while also working as a fellow of two Oxford colleges. “I believe a great children’s book has to be able to acknowledge all that we know about the human heart, both its capacity for snide and jealousy and violence and anger and dread, because if you acknowledge those, the children will believe you when you speak to them of joy, of hope, of what it is to love and care and endure.”We live, Rundell continues, in a very bleak time – “a world on fire, with more flames to come” – where the ferocious hope in the triumph of good over evil that undergirds those same great children’s novels has never been more necessary.“One of the things I love about great children’s books is they insist over and over that it is still worth teaching children how to rejoice,” she says.The Globe chatted with Rundell about particularities of writing for children – especially those in the digital age – and why the stories children hear can have such a profound impact on the rest of their lives.Would you say kids are a tougher crowd than adults?They’re a different crowd. One thing is that they’re a mystery to us. I remember very vividly what it was to be a child, but there is still a block between me and my childhood self, and that is the block of 20 years. I’m more connected to my childhood than most, partly because it’s my job. I have booklets of things that I adored as a kid, those passions and profoundly child-like behaviours and eccentricities – the desire to make a potion, to keep a secret. But because children do not have the vocabulary to express all of their hinterland, it’s harder to know a child in some ways than it is to know an adult. Their passions are more opaque, both to them and to us, but their passions are colossal, and their thirst for justice is perhaps the greatest it is at any point in their human existence. Their capacity for love is so deep and so profound. I wanted to write a book that would salute them.In Impossible Creatures, the highs are so high and the lows are so low. Were you mirroring that emotional range kids have?Exactly that. Children experience the world so intensely. Part of that is the “first-time” quality. Every year of your life, you are doing thousands of things for the first time. Big things like taking the train for the first time, or small things like unlocking the door at home. It’s this constant state of discovery and adjustment. It’s why for children, the world feels so vivid and bold and beautiful, but also so bewildering. That’s one of the reasons children need books. The world itself is too big to read, but in a children’s book, you can understand the entirety of the fictional world, and it gives you the experience of understanding. It gives you the experience of gaining knowledge.Open this photo in gallery:Rundell’s children’s fantasy novel Impossible Creatures is an international bestseller.Nina Subin/Getty ImagesDo you have a gauge for what might be “too much” to include in a children’s book?It’s something I think about all the time. You want to make sure that when a child is reading a book of yours, they’re trusting you totally, and you have to try to not let down that trust. I will always make sure that because of the age I’m writing for, which is 9 to 12, there might be violence but there won’t be the kind of graphic violence that will haunt a child. There will be sorrow, but it will be the sorrow of real life, of real loss.And then there’s this really crucial idea of the mismatch between a sanitized children’s book and a child’s experience of the internet and of television. I want to give them some iterations of dread and of fear, because with a book you can tame it and shape it for them, and you can take them gently by the hand and say, “Look, there will be loss, but there will be such huge glory.” Whereas kids by the time they reach age 12 will have seen many profoundly graphic murders on the television, on the internet, on the news. We have to accept we live in a moment where children see darkness, so if we’re going to offer them darkness in books we need to do it as humanely as possible.Are you conscious of being in competition with television and the internet?When I write, I’m mostly propelled by the interior engine that was built over the last 37 years, and which was built by quite big, complicated books. The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Emma, Dickens, Trollope, Baldwin, Nabokov. It’s so important, not just for generosity but for democracy, that we do not talk down to children. That we do not allow ourselves as a society to lose the capacity for the stamina of approaching a big text. Within a big text, you find nuanced ideas that cannot be summarized in a paragraph.I am also very aware that we are writing for our time. I’m not writing for the kids of the 1950s. I’m writing for kids who are right now 10 or 12 years old. What I think they need is wooing. They need to be lured in. For instance, my book starts with two very short chapters. They do get longer, and they also get more complicated. What I think you do is lay a path before them, and you scatter the breadcrumbs, and you hope that by the time you’ve hooked them, you can start to stretch their attention, their stamina, what they think they’re capable of.You’re also writing for the children of the pandemic. Do you think there is something specific to being born in, say, 2014 that you react differently to this book?It’s such an interesting question. How different is this generation because of the sacrifices that we as a culture asked them to make? My hunch is that there are more universals than differences, but the differences are very real. Children still want comfort, love, adventure, jokes, passion, but I think the comfortableness with reading has probably shifted with this generation because we as a generation of parents perhaps left them to more screens than any other generation because it was the only way to get through the time to do work. For these kids who have been deprived of certain forms of community and of rest, how do we give it back to them? And how do we make sure that lack doesn’t become for them something in adulthood that is really painful and destructive?