Catholics from the founding of our country on have faced discrimination. Think of the FBI targeting a Catholic Church that used a Latin service. Think Catholic presidents. I thought there was only one, JFK, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, but it turns out there was  a second…Joe Biden.

When I was growing up, it was common knowledge… don’t date Catholics. Why? If you married a Catholic, you’d be forced to raise your children that way too. BTW, I dated two.

But there’s a new first for US Catholics…a Catholic Pope from the US. The discrimination came from the Church itself. For decades, they feared too much American control of society, religion, and even politics, if an American was Pope. Read on, here’s a little background on the newest Pope, Leo XIV. 
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My sources:
Biography of Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost - Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV - Wikipedia
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​Part 1 – The First US Pope – A Brief Biography: See the man in the middle? That’s our new pope, the Bishop of Rome, Robert Francis Provost. He was born in September 1955, near Chicago Illinois. He’s not a coastal elite. He’s a man from the heartland who’s only four years older than me. His parents had French, Italian, and Spanish roots. Mine had German, French, and English ones. He had 2 older brothers. I had a younger brother and sister. All of those things make him relatable to people like me. 

See the house? It’s tiny, but that’s where young Robert grew up. I wonder if his neighbors ever dreamed that they lived beside a future pope. I imagine not.

‘Bob’ grew up in Dolton, Illinois. It’s on Chicago’s South Side. As a kid he was part of the parish of St. Mary of the Assumption. That’s where he went to school, sang in the choir, and served as an altar boy. Would you believe he dreamed of becoming a priest? He even played Mass at home with his older brothers. Wow!

His first step, moving to Michigan for high school. It's where he studied at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers. For college he moved to Pennsylvania to study at Villanova, an Augustinian University. His first degree was in math, but he also studied philosophy.

Later in 1977, he moved to Missouri to become a novice/novitiate in the Order of Saint Augustine. Four years later he made his solemn vows. Think of it like graduation, but Bob wasn’t a priest. Not yet. The next school meant another move, back to Chicago for his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union. By 1982, his superiors sent him to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. By mid-June, he was officially ordained as a priest. Congratulations, Father Prevost!
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This is South America. That’s where Father Prevost moved next. He was a missionary in Chulucanas, Peru from 1985-1986.  Peru is on the western central coast of South America. It’s in olive green.  Prevost returned to Illinois in 1987 to finish his doctorate.

In 1988 Prevost flew back to Peru. This time he went to Trujillo to serve the Augustinians as a missionary. He also took on ten different roles over eleven years. In 1999 he returned to Chicago where he served in five different jobs. He stayed put until 2013.

In 2014 Pope Francis sent Prevost to Peru again. This time to Chiclayo. Within a month Prevost was ordained as a Titular Bishop of Sufar.  He picked an episcopal motto, ‘in the one Christ we are one.’ Less than a year later Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of   Chiclayo. As bishop, Provost served in six other positions from 2015-2023 too, until the Pope found him a new job. Did you know Prevost also has dual citizenship? From Peru and the US.
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Becoming a Cardinal! In 2023 the Pope called Provost to Rome. His job, to recommend new bishops to Pope Francis, who’d have to approve them of course. His last job was Cardinal. From 2023-2025, he served in fifteen other roles as well.

Pope Francis died on April 21, and Provost was elected on May 8. From what I’ve seen and heard, I believe our new pope will talk the talk and walk the walk as a servant of Christ. Robert will grow and change as he adjusts to his new job, as Pope Leo XIV, just like everyone else who gets a promotion.



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​Charley was born in September1737, in Annapolis, Maryland. He was the only son and heir to a wealthy family who suffered discrimination because they were Catholics. At age ten he and his cousin John were sent to study secretly at Bohemia Manor in Cecil County. At age twelve the cousins were sent to study publicly at St. Omers, a Jesuit school in France. He wouldn’t return home for sixteen years, until he was 26. In between Charley studied the classics in Paris; then law at the Inner Temple in London. This portrait was painted before he came home in 1765.
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When Charley returned, he found himself the owner of 10,000 acres. The property’s name, Carrollton, became part of his name too. Why? To make himself different from all the other Charles Carrolls in the family. Within three years Charley married. He had seven children, but he only watched three grow up.

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Politically Motivated! As a Catholic, Charley couldn’t run for office or serve as a lawyer, but he knew how to write. He entered politics in 1773 when he wrote some letters as ‘First Citizen’ for the Maryland Gazette. He became known as a citizen patriot. A year later his fellow citizens elected him to the 2nd Maryland Convention, and that ended the ban on Catholics in politics.

Charley’s next assignment, traveling to Canada with Samuel Chase, Ben Franklin, and his cousin John. Their job, to get Canadians to join us in fighting the British. They said no thanks. Charley and Chase returned home. They convinced hesitant Maryland delegates to vote for independence, and Charley became a delegate to the 2nd Continental Congress. He was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration.
Here’s his signature…
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Charley didn’t stop there. He helped write Maryland’s first state Constitution and Declaration of Rights. It was adopted in 1776. He went on to serve in the state Senate from 1776-1800. (Wikipedia said he started in 1781.)

Charley continued to serve in the Continental Congress until 1778. He left when his term ended so he could spend more time with family and join in state government. In 1789 Charley became one of Maryland’s first two US Senators. He left at the end of 1792 because he had to choose where to serve. Maryland made a law that its representatives could only serve one government—state or national. Charley chose Maryland, of course. 
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I’m not sure when this painting was done. The internet tour guide for Charley’s Annapolis house said it was painted for his granddaughters. They married English aristocrats and wanted a painting to remember him.
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Charley left the Maryland Senate in 1800. That’s the year Thomas Jefferson was elected President, and his party too. They swept to victory in Maryland and across the country. 

But don’t worry! Charley didn’t wither away. He invested in banks, canals, turnpikes, bridges and water companies. AND, he helped build the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Think B&O! Charley never wasted money—he used it to grow more.

Charley spent his final years on Lombard Street in Baltimore. It’s now the Carroll Mansion and museum. He also built St. Mary’s Catholic Church on his land in Annapolis. It became the city’s first official Catholic Church.

On July 4, 1826, Charley became the last living signer when both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day. Charley lived another six years, dying in November 1832. The country gave him a National Day of Mourning. He’s buried at his country home, Doughoregan Manor.

My Sources:
Charles Carroll of Carrollton – The Signer | Charles Carroll House
Charles Carroll of Carrollton - Wikipedia
 

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​Part 3 – The First Catholic Bishop – A Brief Biography: See the older man? At 71, he’s watched America grow from a colony into a country. John Carroll is a minor character in my middle grade novel… he’s Charley Carroll’s cousin. His claim to fame, he became the first Catholic Bishop in the US. Here’s his story…
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John was born in January 1735, in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He was the third son of a wealthy Catholic family. His oldest brother died as a baby. Daniel was born second and became the family heir. He played a part in writing the Constitution. John was the youngest, but two years older than Charley Carroll. The cousins studied at Bohemia Manor; a grammar school run by Jesuit priests.
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A year later John and Charley traveled to St. Omer’s College in France. John stayed for six years. When he turned 18, he joined the Jesuits, the Society of Jesus. Within two years John began studying philosophy and theology at Liege, another Jesuit school. He joined the priesthood at 34. His first job, teaching his two favorite subjects at Liege and St. Omer’s. John’s path reminds me of Pope Leo’s.

Father John’s life changed when Pope Clement XIV disbanded the Jesuits in 1773. With his job gone, John left Europe for Maryland. There was no church, but Catholics could still worship at home. So John traveled through Maryland and Virginia serving as a Jesuit missionary.
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In the spring of 1776 Charley invited Father John on a trip to Canada. Why? The Continental Congress hoped the Jesuit priest could convince French Canadian Catholics to join the fight for independence. He didn’t change their minds. Charley stayed for the Battle of Quebec, and John traveled home with Ben Franklin. John said it was a fortunate experience. It was… Years later Ben recommended John as the first American Bishop.


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After the war Father Carroll met with five other Jesuits. They wanted to keep working as missionaries and hold onto their homes too. They asked the pope for someone, like a bishop, but without the title and all the power. The pope agreed. In 1784 he picked Father John as the Superior of the Missions in the United States.

John moved to Baltimore. He championed schools, Catholic or not. He also championed freedom of religion and played a role in shaping the first amendment, the one about religious freedom. He was lucky. His brother Daniel could pass John’s ideas onto the delegates writing the Constitution.

Problems within the church led Maryland priests to ask for a bishop. They even had a say on who it would be. Would you believe John got 24 out of 25 votes? In November 1789, Pope Pius VI made John the first American Bishop.
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​See John become a bishop at Lulworth Castle, England in August 1790. John arrived home in December and made St. Peter’s in Baltimore his home church. A year later he held a synod, a meeting of 22 priests from five countries. His biggest concern—training new priests. That was the reason St. Mary’s College and Seminary was established in 1791.

Not everything came easily. In 1798, Bishop John won an important lawsuit, the Fromm Case. Evidently a few Catholics were questioning his authority. The decision said, “The Bishop of Baltimore has the sole episcopal authority of the Catholic Church in the US.” It’s good to get moral support when others are questioning your judgement.

When John suggested a Catholic priest as a minister to the Indians, Washington not only agreed. He got Congress to hire and pay a small yearly salary for one. After his death, February 22 was set aside as a day to celebrate Washington’s life. Bishop John sent word to his clergymen that Catholics could participate too.

​See Bishop John build a cathedral. John laid the cornerstone in July 1806 after he paid $20,000 for the land. John wanted his church just right—B.H. Latrobe drew seven designs before John finally approved one. 
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Remember the painting of John? It’s from 1808. That’s when he became the Archbishop of Baltimore. John’s bishops lived in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown. Archbishop John was a beloved figure. Would you believe he was asked to lay the cornerstone for Washington’s Monument in Baltimore in the fall of 1815? He said no; he knew his end was near.

On November 22, he received the last sacraments. His funeral Mass was held at St. Peter’s, his home church. Archbishop John was laid to rest at St. Mary’s Seminary. Nine years later in 1824 his cathedral crypt was ready to receive him. My guess, Charley Carroll came to say goodbye to his cousin. They’d come a long way from grammar school at Bohemia Manor.
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My Sources:
John Carroll | Catholic Answers Encyclopedia
Baltimore-cornerstone - John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore) - Wikipedia

Have you heard of Game of Thrones? I have, but I’ve never watched it. Two or three weeks ago, it came to my attention for a new reason . . . because someone brought back Dire Wolves. I’d never heard of them either, but the incredible part – Dire Wolves have been extinct for over 10,000 years.
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To see and hear that something that’s extinct is alive again made me flash back to Jurassic Park. The movie where scientists made T Rex and Velociraptor live again. YIKES!

Part 1 – Picturing a Dire Wolf: I couldn’t find a picture to match my imagination. I thought I’d be staring into its eyes as it stood on four legs looking at me. Something that big has an enormous appetite, and wolves eat meat.

Now take a look at the second image, on the graph. It helps me picture their true size. Dire wolves would have been about a meter or 40 inches tall. My height is 65 inches, so that wolf would have stood about hip high.

But, when I look at his length, the dire wolf was about 2 meters long. That’s 80 inches of wolf standing on his hind legs. He would have towered 15 inches above my head. Now check out his teeth . . . YIKES!
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                                      This link from Animal Planet explains why dire wolves are still extinct.
                                                       No, Geneticists Did Not Bring The Dire Wolf Back
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                                                                      Part 2 – Are Dire Wolves Back, or Not?:
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 Colossal or Colossal Bioscience is the company at the heart of this debate. They say they brought the dire wolf back after being extinct for over 10,000 years. I took a screenshot from their website, and this is their logo. If you’d like to read about them, here’s their link: De-extinction Projects, Facts & Statistics | Colossal     


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​This IS NOT a dire wolf. It’s a gray one. They look a lot alike. That’s because they share a common ancestor that lived over 6 million years ago. Think of your 6 million times great grandparents. It was that long ago.
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Colossal used ancient DNA samples from dire wolves, then altered some gray wolf DNA, but some experts say not so fast. They say the pups aren’t really dire wolves. They’re really gray ones with some modified and superficial traits.
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Remember this image from part 1? It’s our friend, the dire wolf. Let’s compare some of his traits to a gray wolf. 

Animal Planet reported that the modern dire wolf story began when Colossal extracted DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull. They used the DNA as a guide to help them bring back the dire wolf. Then they took blood from a gray wolf, edited its DNA using the ancient genetic information, and transferred the updated DNA to a dog egg. That egg was then implanted into a female dog who gave birth to dire wolf pups for the first time in 10,000 years.

That sounds like the right recipe, especially since gray wolves and dire wolves have DNA that’s 99.5% the same. That’s a lot, but would you believe it leaves out millions of DNA differences between the two kinds of wolves? Then consider Colossal only edited 20 of those millions of genetic differences, and 5 edits gave them white coats, like the ones in Game of Thrones. That still leaves millions of bits of DNA that were never edited. Colossal’s pups sound like they’re more related to their gray wolf cousins than their extinct ones.


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 Part 3 – The Implications of De-Extinction: When Colossal introduced their dire wolf pups, they advanced genetic engineering but fell short of de-extinction. My source from Animal Planet said it raised questions about the implications.                     ​
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​This chart shows how we classify the animal world according to what they look like on the inside, outside, and how those sides work together. Animal Planet’s first concern, that this was too subjective, and not rigorous enough.

They thought evolutionary relationships between dire wolves and gray ones over time should have had more emphasis. That DNA sequencing of traits should have been studied then applied.
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For me the debate between the two views shows how hard it is to define a species, let alone bring an extinct one back to life. My question, how do you know you’re interpreting the DNA correctly, then putting it together properly? 

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​Another concern from Animal Planet was about protecting our endangered animals. If companies like Colossal invest in de-extinction, there are less resources for animals who aren’t extinct yet, but could be.
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Reintroduced species like the wolves at Yellowstone must be considered. They vanished from the national park but are found in other places. There’s only so much money for conservation. Spending it on de-extinction won’t save animals in danger today.

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Animal Planet shared another reason for caution using the example of the Pyrenean Ibex. It was cloned and brought back from de-extinction. The scientists thought they’d chosen the right set of genes, but the baby Ibex died soon after birth.

If it had survived, where would it live? How about the dire wolves? Many animals are struggling to survive as habitats shrink. Adding de-extincted animals to those habitats would put more living creatures at risk.

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​Animal Planet’s final concern, that a commercial or entertainment interest might push a project too far, too fast, and end badly.

Think Jurassic Park and bringing the dinosaurs back. Remember the ending with kids hiding from a T Rex and a herd of Velociraptors? They pushed the science too far, underestimated dinosaur intelligence, and overestimated ours.
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The dire wolf has the same potential thanks to Game of Thrones. Science and entertainment have different interests, different requirements. Thank goodness, those pups are genetically enhanced gray wolves, with only a few dire wolf traits.
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It’s heartwarming to bring back an extinct animal, but it’s also scary. Even scientists don’t know what they don’t know. Think Pyrenean Ibex or Jurassic Park. I hope scientists working on de-extinction will take careful steps as they continue their research.

Did you watch The Masters? It was the golf tournament on last weekend. Sunday’s round was full of moments with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, especially for Rory McIlroy. He was playing to win Golf’s Grand Slam. He almost lost—he bogeyed the last hole, lost his lead, and had to play a sudden-death playoff. Thank goodness he won!

Part 1 – The Commercial Hooks:  But that’s not why I’m writing about the Masters. It was all because of a commercial that hooked me three ways on Sunday. The first hook, the song, The Halls of Shambala. I remembered it from 1973. I was a freshman in junior high, middle school today.

The second hook, kids! Kids playing golf, putting the ball in the hole, or rolling it by. The third, the reason for the ad from Bank of America, they’re sponsoring a year of golf for kids across the country. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone who learns golf thanks to them, becomes the Master’s Champion in another ten to twenty years? This was the perfect commercial!
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​Sorry, I googled, but I couldn’t find a screenshot that lets you click on the commercial. Bank of America already pulled it down. But I can share this link: bank of america commercial for halls of shambala - Search Results | Facebook

It takes you to the screenshot above, and it plays Halls of Shambala by Three Dog Night. If you scroll down, the comments are more about the song than the tournament. I guess their fans were thrilled to hear it on national TV again. 
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As for this screenshot, I looked for young golfers who were as cute as the kids in the commercial. I went through like ten pages on Pixabay, and these were the best images I could find. Sorry ☹

  

                                                                                    Part 2 – A Song Is Born: ​​

​Halls of Shambala was written by musician, singer, and songwriter Daniel Moore. Two different artists recorded and released their own version of Moore’s song within a week of each other.
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The lyrics were written about Shambhala, a kingdom that existed only in myth, but it was written about in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. The kingdom is supposed to be hidden somewhere near the Himalayas, either within its peaks or just beyond them.
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But Daniel Moore’s song version was about a mystic temple in Peru. Its name, the temple of the White Lodge. Daniel found it in Alice Bailey’s 1934 book, A Treatise on White Magic.
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                                                         Resource Link: Shambala (song) - Wikipedia
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Part 3 – First Out; Reached #31: B.W. Stevenson released his version first, probably at the end of May or beginning of June. It was a minute shorter and had a country pop rock sound to it. Stevenson’s version reached #66 on the US Pop Singles chart and #31 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Sorry, I couldn’t find a photo of B.W.

                                                         Resource Link: Shambala (song) - Wikipedia
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Part 4 – Last Out, But Hit #3: The version you heard from the golf commercial, that was Three Dog Night. They released Shambala early in June, and it stayed on the American top 40 chart from June until the end of August. AND, it hit #3 on both the Pop Singles and Adult Contemporary charts. Where does Second ever beat First?! In the Halls of Shambala.

Fun fact, this is the first song Three Dog Night released as a single. They added it later to their ninth album, Cyan. You’ll also find it on their anthology and compilation records.

Meet the boys in the band from 1972. Back row, from left to right: Joe Schermie, Floyd Sneed, Michael Allsup, and Jimmy Greenspan.

The front row, left to right are the founding members: Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. Between 1969 and 1975, Three Dog Night scored 21 Billboard Top 30 hits. Three of them – #1s.

                Resource Links:  - Shambala (song) - Wikipedia    and - Three Dog Night - Wikipedia

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Part 5 – Welcome to Shambala:​ This was the only screenshot I could find. It’s from the story of Kalki’s birth place. Kalki is the final incarnation of the god  Vishnu. His arrival signals the beginning of a new Golden Age. If you’d like to check it out, click here: Shambhala - The Birth Place of Kalki

My link said Shambhala comes from a Sanskrit word. It means ‘place of peace or place of silence.’ Legends say only people with pure hearts live there. That it’s a place where love and wisdom reign. Where there’s no suffering, want, or old age. It sounds like Heaven to me.
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Some say Shambhala has a thousand names. Hindus call it Aryavartha, the Land of the Worthy Ones. The Chinese name is Hsi Tien, the Western Paradise of Hsi Wang Mu. Russian Old Believers call it Belovoyde, and across Asia it’s known by its Sanskrit name – Shambhala, Shamballa, or Shangri-la. Whatever its name, it’s where I want to go. 

I was born in 1959, and so many things I grew up with, that were made here in the USA are gone. The factories who made them, gone. Moved to another country. Employing other people to make them.  The link below has 18 things that left our shores. 
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#1. Rawlings Baseballs: They’re THE supplier for Major League Baseball. Born in 1887 in St. Louis, Missouri. Their founders, George and Alfred Rawlings.
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In 1969 Rawlings moved their factory from Missouri to Puerto Rico, then Haiti. Now they’re in Costa Rica. I guess baseballs are no longer as American as apple pie. 


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#2. Gerber Baby Food: Oh, my! I grew up eating Gerber. My kids did too.
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Gerber was born in 1927 in Michigan, that state up north. They merged with a Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis, in 1994. Nestle bought them out in 2007, but my link said Gerber is no longer made in the USA.

CORRECTION: Yes, it is. Bonus source #1 said Gerber’s still made in Ohio and Florida. In Canada and Europe too, but source #2 said you’ll find Gerber around the world. In Mexico too. 
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​#3. Etch A Sketch:. I had one growing up, and so did my husband. Etch A Sketch was born in Bryan, Ohio. The company, Ohio Art, moved its factory to Shelnzhen, China in 2000. It’s a pity . . . something created by Buckeyes is now made in China.



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Now Chucks are made in Indonesia, but I wondered about Converse, so I googled. If you buy anything with a Converse label, they’re made in China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. Not in the USA.

Converse became part of Nike in 2003. They’re both American companies, in name only. Their headquarters are in the US, but their shoes are made somewhere else.

Bonus Sources: Where Are Converse Made? In The US? - The Men Hero
​Is Nike an American Company? - Shoe Effect


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 5. Steel Rebar: Have you heard of rebar? I hadn’t, so I googled it. Rebar is a special steel bar or mesh made from small steel wires. Its purpose—to strengthen and stabilize concrete and other materials. You’ll find it in platforms, walls, floors, and ceilings.

If you’re in construction, you use rebar. You can buy some kinds in the US, but you have to import the others. 

                                      Bonus Source: What Is Rebar and Why Is It Used? - Handyman's World
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​#6. Shirts: The major manufacturers have left the country. The last one, C.F. Hathaway shut down their factory in Maine in 2002 after 165 years of doing business. There are still small shirt makers in the US, but the big guys are all gone.



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#7. Mattel: It’s the largest toy company in the world, the stuff of my childhood. Mattel shuttered its last US factory in 2002. Now China makes about 65% of Mattel’s toys. That includes Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Polly Pocket, American Girl, and so many more.

Mattel’s headquarters are in California, and it has factories all over the world including China, Mexico, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Like everything else, production is cheaper overseas.

                                             Bonus Source: Where Are Mattel Toys Made? - AllAmerican.org


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​​ #8. Minivan Chassis: I know what a minivan is but had no idea about the chassis. It’s the bottom of a car, where the rubber meets the road. Think wheels and axles. I used Legos to teach my second graders about them, but I never used the word chassis. Car companies stopped making them here in 2003. 

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#9. Vending Machine Parts: The key parts of my favorite machine aren’t made in the USA anymore. Two of them – the bill and coin dispensers.

             Tomorrow: Four more products no longer made in the USA



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#10. Levi Jeans: If you’re American, you’ve probably worn Levis. They were an icon here for 150 years, until December of 2023. That’s when they moved their factories to Latin America and Asia.

What’s Latin America? I looked it up. It’s the parts of the Americas that once belonged to the Spanish, Portuguese, or French colonial empires. So, what’s that? Basically everything south of Mexico, including Central and South America. Plus, the islands of the Carribean.

Bonus Source: Latin America can also be defined as all those parts of the Americas that were once part of the Spanish, Portuguese or French colonial empires.
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​#11. Radio Flyer Wagons: Everyone I know, including my children grew up with a little red wagon. They were all made in the US until 2004. That’s when Radio Flyer closed its plant in Chicago and moved to China. 




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#12. Television: I grew up with TV. I went from black and white to color. From a small screen to the huge ones we have today. In the 60s TVs were made in the USA. Not anymore. The last American manufacturer, Five Rivers Electronic Innovations, closed in 2004. Now, TVs are made somewhere else.

So, who makes TVs? The AI list included South Korea, China, Vietnam, Poland, India, Mexico, Russia, and Indonesia. But I found A FEW made in the USA.

1. Silo Digital is in Chatsworth, California. It specializes in LED TVs, and it’s been the leading ‘manufacturing scene’ (whatever that means) in the USA for the last 10 years.

2. SunBrite TVs are based in Thousand Oaks California, but they have plants in North Carolina and Texas. Their specialty, TVs for outside places, but they have indoor ones too!

3. Element Electronics sounds like a hybrid to me. They have an assembly plant in South Carolina to make their Smart TVs, but their Android and Roku units are made in Asia.

4. Sharp Electronics Corporation, really? They started in Montvale, New Jersey in 1962, but they are a subsidiary of Sharp from Japan. My source said, ‘you really can’t get televisions that are more “Made in America” than Sharp!’ If that’s true, why didn’t my source list the plants in the US?

5. Toshiba is another Japanese subsidiary that has some assembly lines here in the states. They do carry the Made in the USA label, but they don’t name the states they’re in.

​6. Seura is an American brand found in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  

 Bonus Source: TVs Made In the USA: American Brands Complete List [2025]


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#13. Cell Phones: My original link said that in 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold world-wide, and NOT ONE was made in the USA. So, where are they made? I googled, and here’s the Top Ten list:

1. China once made 80% of the world’s phones, but it dropped to 50% in 2023 when some companies left the country.

2. India is where business went. Phones are now their 5th largest export.

3. Vietnam was in 2nd place, until India passed them. Now it’s in 3rd place, and they make 10% of the world’s mobile phones.

4-10. These six countries make the remaining 20% of mobile phones. In order…the US, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. How did the US get into 4th place? Maybe other countries make the parts, and Americans assemble them, but that’s a guess.

    Bonus Source: The Top 10 Mobile Manufacturing Countries (Updated 2025) (US) - MobilityArena

                                       

                                                          The photo below is a welding kit. It has 4 key parts.

Top Right – Crucible. It’s used for melting metallic elements before they can be cast. Crucibles have to have a higher melting point than whatever’s inside.

​Top Row Left – Sand Mold. There are 3 pieces for each rail type and 3 different kinds of rails.

Bottom Left – Igniter. It has a wind resistant design, and it produces temperatures as high as 1500 Celsius. Water boils at 100. YIKES! You need 1 igniter for each weld. That’s where you melt 2 pieces of metal together.
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Bottom Right – Welding Portion. That’s the metals—aluminum and iron oxide powders, that are put into the crucible then melted together. 



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Put it altogether, and this is what rail thermite welding looks like. I hope welders use protective equipment to stay safe and keep their cool.

Bonus Sources:
Cast Manganese Steel Crossings: Applications and Benefits - MFG Shop
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Rail thermite welding | Railroad Thermite Welding | Welding Kit And Crucibles Available
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#15. Dell Computers: Dell’s last major plant in the US closed in 2010. Now they outsource their production to Asia. Why? To stay competitive, in other words to keep prices down. American workers in the 2000s made too much money. That made Dell computers expensive, so they sent their factories overseas where they could find cheaper workers.

#16. Canned Sardines: The little fish that are great on crackers, they aren’t canned in the US anymore. They’d been an American product from 1875 until April 2010. That’s when the last cannery, Stinson Seafood from Maine, shut down.

Where do canned sardines come from now? More than half are from Morocco, a country in Northern Africa. They produce more than 850,000 tons each year. That’s a lot of tuna!

                                  Bonus Source: Most of the world's canned sardines come from this country


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#17. Flatware: Oh, that’s silverware! My link said Sherrill Manufacturing, the last plant in the US, stopped production in 2010 because of economic troubles, and that they hoped to restart their business again.

Surprise! Flatware is still made here in the US, and I found four companies that do it. The first, Liberty Tabletop, and it’s made by Sherrill, in Sherrill, New York. Yes, they’re back in business again! Farmhouse Pottery is also in New York. Wallace Silversmiths are in Wallingford, Connecticut, and Knock Flatware is in Newton, Kansas. Three cheers for flatware made in the USA!
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                                  Bonus Source: The 4 Flatware Made in The USA 2024 (Complete List)


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#18. Incandescent Light Bulbs: Invented in the USA, but the last big factory closed in September 2010. Why? Congress passed a ban on them that began in 2014.

I googled if incandescents are made here, and it turns out it’s still a political thing. In 2023 the Biden administration put in a controversial regulation—They banned General Service Lamps too, AND incandescent light bulbs couldn’t be manufactured or sold here either. If a business refused to obey, they’d forfeit their stock. OUCH!

In January 2025 President Trump signed an executive order about energy efficiencey, AND the government is reevaluating light bulbs. So…the good old incandescents might be back, or not. But if they are, you might still need new lamps to use them.

BTW, this isn’t a complete list of products, but we’re in a period of change, so maybe, some will come home again.
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                                            Bonus Source: Are Incandescent Light Bulbs Coming Back?

​Did you ever reread a story and discover there’s more to it? I read this for Saturday Reads in March of 2023. But when I read it out loud for fourth graders at Cridersville Elementary, I knew I had to write about it. For you, for them, and for me too…I was curious.

The Water Princess in the story spends her morning walking to the well. She returns home in the afternoon. That’s about 4 miles a day, or a hike through 70 football fields lined up back-to-back. That’s a long way.

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​​

Part 1 – Meet the Real Water Princess:  Her name, Georgie Badiel. The book said it was based on her childhood. The real Georgie didn’t walk to the well every day, only during summer vacations with her grandmother.

Georgie grew up, became a model, an author, and an activist. Today she lives in New York City, but she has never forgotten those childhood walks to collect water. Now she has a platform to help people back home. It’s dedicated to building and restoring wells in Burkina Faso.

This screenshot is from her board of directors. The link:  Team — Georgiebadielfoundation
 

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Part 2 – A Foundation for a Princess:  This Georgie Badiel’s Foundation’s home page.
The link: Georgiebadielfoundation

Georgie said, “I used to walk 3 hours to fetch water for my family.
My goal is to break that cycle.”​
​​

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​Georgie's Mission = CLEAN WATER in Burkina.
Ensure the SUSTAINABILITY of the water system
through WOMEN ENGINEERING program.

When you can provide clean water to someone, it impacts every aspect of life.

If you’d like to watch this video, click on: Mission — Georgiebadielfoundation
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Part 3 – Where the Princess is Working:  Georgie Badiel’s Foundation works in Burkina Faso. The link: Where We Work — Georgiebadielfoundation

Burkina Faso is shown in red and green, with a star in the center. It looks small on the map, but it’s about the size of Montana.

Burkina Faso has way more people. Montana only has 1million, and Burkina Faso, 20.9. That’s like 21 times more!

Burkina Faso was once a French colony. Its official language is still French, but half the people speak Mossi. Its citizens are called Burkinabe, and its capital is Ougadougou.
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Its neighbors—Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin and Togo to the southeast, Ghana to the south, and the Ivory Coast to the southwest. BTW, Georgie was born in the Ivory Coast.

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​​

Remember those 2 women? The foundation teaches them basic engineering, how to restore, and maintain those wells. Why women? They’re the ones who collect the water, so they need to keep it working.

Would you believe Burkina Faso has 9,775 broken wells? Georgie’s foundation wants to insure their new wells are maintained and cared for, so they manage them until the women are ready to take over.

The Links:
How We Work — Georgiebadielfoundation
Women Engineering — Georgiebadielfoundation
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                                                                    The Link: Georgie Badiel-Liberty - Home


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Part 4 – Another Water Hero: I thought I was done with the Water Princess, but I saw something on Fox News that made me keep going. One of the reporters did a charity event for Africa 6000 International. I listened, and I was hooked. It was a story I had to tell!

Africa 6000 was born in 2007. That didn’t catch my attention, but this did—6000 children died EVERY DAY in 2007 because of waterborne diseases. What a heartbreaking statistic.

The good news, that number has been cut in half…down to under 3000 kids. But that’s still too many, and it’s still heartbreaking.                  Their link: Our Mission - Africa 6000 International   
​

​Africa 6000, their mission is the same as Georgie Badiel’s. To deliver clean water to the thirstiest people in Africa. Their charity builds long-term, solar-powered water wells that can be accessed and maintained successfully by the people who live beside them. Africa 6000 hires and trains teams to drill wells and drive support vehicles. 

Meet Jesse Waters. He’s the Fox reporter who introduced me to Africa 6000. He only had 30-60 seconds to tell his story, but it was compelling. He said the number of children dying was closer to 2000 now. Imagine building a program that saves the lives of 3-4000 children every single day. THAT’S an accomplishment!
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Imagine that clean water makes medical clinics and schools possible. Picture water flowing to your garden or farm. And dream that you and the people in your village are trained and empowered to keep those wells working. THAT’S powerful! Plus, women and children can go to school, can learn to read and write. And me, I’m proud to introduce you to this incredible program!

These 2 maps show the success Africa 6000 has had. Do you see those blue circles with white dots? Each one represents a well built by Africa 6000. They’ve done a lot of work in18 years!
Here’s an interesting fact I learned from Africa 6000—Did you know…A whole family in Africa exists on 5 gallons of water a day? Each American, every single one of us, uses 175 gallons EVERY DAY! Wow, Americans are blessed! ​

​In August of 2024, I decided to break my novel of 57 chapters into a series. The first book will go from chapters 1-10, from the Declaration of Independence to the end of the Revolution.

I went from writing a chapter a week to endless editing and revision. Would you believe chapters 1 and 2 have gone through over 20 revisions since June? I’m working to polish the first 3 chapters to send out on submission. Each chapter is about 13 pages, with 5-10 comments a page to work through. That’s a lot of revision!


​                                               I used to paste them in, then revise. Here’s my new shortcut . . . 
​​
​

Part 1 - A Simple Revision: This is my download from Google Docs. It’s in Microsoft Word. That’s where I do my work.
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The screenshot below came from Chapter 1. Ben Franklin and John Hancock are on their way to sign the Declaration of Independence. Heather’s comment is to the right. She asked about the tea thrown overboard.  BTW, the real Boston Tea Party happened on December 16, 1773. 
​

Here’s what I did . . . I left the paragraph and the  comment where it was. Then I copied another set below the original one. (See? They both start with ‘Ben chortled.’)

Then I copied and pasted Heather’s comment between the two paragraphs. I bolded it for you. She suggested I replace good English tea with fresh English tea.

It seems like an easy switch, until you do the research. The East India Tea Company got their tea from China. Fresh tea leaves wouldn’t have made it to England, or the colonies. They were dried for the journey. 
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​

I could have replaced good with dried English tea, but I didn’t. This is a story about the founders, the men who signed the Declaration. Not tea, so I left it the way it was, for now. The current version is in the screenshot below, but it could still change. If Heather suggests something better, I’ll take a look.
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Part 2 - A Complicated Revision: This screenshot came from Chapter 2. It’s a conversation I imagined between Charley and John Dickinson. Both men served in the Continental Congress.

John was the chairman of the Committee for the Articles of Confederation. He represents most delegates. They wanted our first constitution to give more power to the states than the national government. Charley took the opposite side now, and in the distant future when the Articles fail, as he predicted. 

​

Here’s how I edited the first paragraph. I only copied the comment from ‘pursed his lips.’ It’s bolded, and it’s 7 paragraphs long. Heather had 3 more comments in the rest of that original paragraph, plus  4 more comments in the next 2.

This was THE most complicated revision in all of chapter 2. That’s why I picked it to share with you. Would you believe this page took 2 days to revise. YIKES!

​

​After 2 days of revision, this is what I sent to my critique group. Heather will see it next. The original lines started with pursed his lips. I added 6 new lines and the revision ended with supported his concerns.

Basically I stretched the conversation between Charley and John Dickinson. I showed their emotions through actions. Then I named that emotion in words. I also added the details Heather thought a reader would want to know. She reminded me that the reason I write/revise is for you, my reader. 

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Part 3 – Two Files That Get Me Unstuck: Look below and you’ll see three Word files that I keep on my desktop. Two of them have similar names; they both begin with Chapters 1 and 2.
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​​

The bottom one from December is my working copy. I edit and revise on it. I used it to screenshot all the examples you found in this post.

Above it, my original copy from Google Docs. It has the original words from my last revision. It also has all of Heather’s comments. This is the first time I’ve ever put it on my desktop.

When all the revisions are done, I pull up my working copy, listen to it on narrator, and look for places that don’t work. Sometimes I change a word or two; sometimes more.

When I get stuck and can’t decide what to do, I pull up that original copy. I look at what was, Heather’s comment, and what’s on the new page. And, PRESTO!

OK, it’s usually not that fast, but I get an idea to try. Whatever I decide, I edit, listen, and repeat until the paragraph sounds just right…until Heather looks at it again. 

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The document on top, Pray first, I’ve had it on my desktop for a year or two. Would you believe I used it today? I’m working on Heather’s comments from the beginning of chapter 3. She asked me to describe the outside of Old St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Philadelphia. I don’t know if Charley ever attended St. Joseph’s, but he was Catholic…so it’s highly likely. 
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I worked three days on the first page of Chapter 3, and I was still stuck. Still unhappy. So I pulled up my file, this screenshot, and I read it once again. Turning to God and putting my faith in Him always puts things in perspective. It helps me decide what to try next.

Reading through Pray first made me finally realize I don’t know enough about what St. Joseph looks like. That information doesn’t exist online, so I emailed the librarian at St. Joseph’s University and asked for help. Then I put a plug in page 1. I can’t move on until she answers my questions.
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So tomorrow…I’ll try my luck on page 2.

Would you like to save a buck or two? Maybe more! Take a look at some ideas I found at Better Report. They had the cheapest days to find great deals in eight different categories. Saving money, it’s a great thing!
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                                          Their Link: The Cheapest Day to Go Out to Eat - Better Report      
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​Better Reports says that’s when seventeen states historically had their lowest average. If you can’t make it on Monday, try Tuesday. It came in second.

Why? Early in the week demand is lower, so that’s when gas stations drop their prices. They raise it later. The worst day to buy gas – Thursday.
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Me, I buy gas when my tank is low, but I’ll keep this in mind for the future! I hope you will too.


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    ​​ #2. The Best Day to Eat Out:   Monday again! 

Better Reports says it’s the slowest day all week. Restaurants offer discounts to bring in customers. Look for complimentary appetizers and discounts on drinks and entrees.

Plus, they might have unsold inventory.  Leftovers from the weekend might be discounted early in the week. If you don’t see any specials, ask. You might score a great deal, especially on appetizers and desserts.

If you can’t do Monday, try Tuesday or Wednesday, but avoid Friday and Saturday. They’re usually the busiest, and most expensive days of the week.

        My husband and I tend to do Sunday after church. Or whenever we just get tired of cooking.
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​                                                      #3. The Best Day to Buy a Car:   Monday, or Tuesday!

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​Think customers! Better Reports says Mondays and Tuesdays are the lightest days for foot traffic. Most people are working, and dealerships still have inventory to move. You’ll have less competition for salesmen and test drives, more time for negotiation. That should get you a better price. And the best time on either day – morning!

The worst day – Saturday, of course! Everyone is off so salesmen are super-busy. You could wind up with a higher price than your Monday special.

              I ’m lucky! My husband worked at Honda, so we go through their employee auction site.
                                                                                 The deals, fantastic!



                                                                      #4. The Best Day to See a Movie:   Tuesday!

This is a great deal if you’re free on Tuesdays. Better Reports says that Cinemark and AMC movie chains offer discounts as high as 50%. AND they also have deals on popcorn and drinks. Woohoo!


Better Reports also suggested downloading a free rewards program app. It could get you bigger discounts and more rewards. Woohoo! Woohoo!


                     I don’t go to the movies often, but the next time I’m tempted, I’ll think Tuesday!



​                                                           #5. The Best Day to Buy Groceries:    Wednesday!
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I thought it would be Monday, like restaurants, but Wednesdays are their slowest day. Better Reports says grocers start weekly specials on Wednesdays. New items, they’re in stock and on sale. If you wait, you might miss out. Want a deal on perishables? Grocers mark them down Wednesday night.


And the worst day – Saturdays of course! It’s busy, and some things are already gone from the shelves.
       Me, I shop Friday afternoons because it’s the end of my work week. Too bad it isn’t Wednesday!


 

#6. The Best Day to Shop the Mall:   Thursdays!
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If you still shop there, head over Thursday night. Most stores get ready for the weekend on Thursdays. That’s when they restock and mark down inventory. Thursday gets you the best deals, and you don’t even have to fight the weekend crowds.


Me, I haven’t been to a mall since I retired. I tend to shop online so I just googled . . . two sites said it’s Tuesday morning before noon. Here’s to Tuesdays!



                                                        #7. The Best Day to Book a Hotel: Fridays!

The airlines used to release their weekly deals on Tuesday, but today there’s no set day, and no price matching. Better Report says Sunday is usually the cheapest day. That’s when you can get 6% off domestic flights and 13% off international ones.

My husband and I don’t tend to fly, but the next time, I’ll check prices on Sunday. Here’s to cheap deals for you and me!

I love Mrs. Frizzle! Her outfits are so much fun! They focus attention on whatever she’s teaching, from her earrings down to her shoes.
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I can never match her style, but it’s fun to try! Take a look at how I dress for my weekend videos. Can you match them together? Good luck!
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Part 1; Matching People: Here are three screenshots from three videos. Two are about famous people. Match my outfit in screenshot 1, 2, and 3 to the people I was talking about.
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One is about how we can all follow our dreams, like Dr. King did. A second is about Vice President, J.D. Vance. And the third is about Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself. Can you match the people I talked about to my outfit? Look closely for clues! 
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Following dreams, that’s Photo #2. White clouds on a navy shirt made me think dreams, and clouds are in the video too.

​The Title: Following Your Dreams.                               
The Link: (1) Facebook    

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​Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is Photo #3. My black turtleneck, sweater vest, and cross necklace helped me read his most famous speech. 

Book Title– I Have a Dream.
​The Link: (1) Facebook​
 
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​Part 2; Matching Holidays: Here are two screenshots from two holiday read-aloud videos. One is the scary holiday children love to celebrate. The second is all about hearts and love. It’s another childhood favorite. Can you match the holiday to my outfit? Look closely, and you’ll find a few clues! 
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The first holiday photo, Halloween. That’s when children dress up in costumes. Some, are scary! Usually I wear orange and black, but this sweater features a few webs and spiders too. SCARY!
                        The Book Title- Dino-Halloween.                                    The Link: Facebook 

And the second, Valentine’s Day. Did you notice my heart necklace and the rose-colored sweater?
                        The Book Title- Valensteins.                                               The Link: Facebook   

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​These two screenshots are from the same holiday. Christmas, of course! But the read-alouds are different. One’s about Santa. The other’s about Baby Jesus. Which outfit matches their read-aloud?

The first screenshot, Baby Jesus. Did you see the star and the wise man? This is my Christmas Day read-aloud.                 The Book Title- The Christmas Story.                                                           The Link: Facebook 

And the second, Santa! Did you see him in his sleigh with the reindeer? It’s my Christmas Eve read-aloud.                             The Book Title- A World of Cookies for Santa.                                        The Link: Facebook  


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Part 3: Matching Places: Here are three screenshots from three places I wrote about . . . the royals of ancient Egypt, estuaries in New Zealand, and tales from Wapakoneta. Can you match my outfit to the place I wrote about? Check the color and jewelry in each screenshot for clues!
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Estuaries in New Zealand, that’s Photo #1. I picked the tan color in my sweater with hints of brown and black because it reminded me of the estuary photos.
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The Title: Take a Trip to New Zealand.
The Link: Facebook

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And Wapakoneta, that’s Photo #3. Wapak was home to the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. I picked a blue/black paislley print. It reminds me of space. The necklace, it’s made of medallions with Neil’s footprint, the one he left on the moon in 1969. Over fifty years later, it’s still there, just the way Neil left it.

The Title: Tales from Wapakoneta.
The Link: Facebook      

​In 2023, I stopped on Day 3, and I let my writing guide me. This year I finished Day 11 and a new Word Power poster.

This is the title I’ve used since 2018. Come along with me, and I’ll show you where I was in 2023 and where I’m heading now that it’s 2025. 
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​

​Part 1 – Things to Keep​: Up first, the things I'm keeping, the programs and tools that work for me. Look down below to see three things that powered me through 2022-2023.

Underneath, my new set. Did you notice I kept two things for 2025? The first, 12 x 12. It’s a community of writers, and I can take three video classes a month from the comfort of my living room in Wapakoneta, Ohio or Lafollette, Tennessee.

The second, my website. I love putting up posts and book reviews for you! I’m planning on updating it this year and giving it a tweak. I haven’t done that since it debuted in 2016. Now that it’s 2025, the time feels right!
​

​Did you notice the last box changed? Writing Magic ended sometime in 2022 or 2023. I replaced it with the Courage to Create Community. I miss Writing Magic, but I found a new home at Courage to Create.

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​Part 2 – Two More Things I’m Keeping: If you look at the first row below, those are the things I kept from the 12 Days of Christmas in 2022-2023. The second row, those are the things I kept from Christmas 2024. 
 
If you look at both rows, the pictures on the left are the same. They’re about marketing; about searching for new ideas to promote my three published books. That’s something I’ll do forever, for every single book I publish. I hope there are a few more in my future!
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​One is about Neil Armstrong and his Wind Tunnel Dream. The other two are about my favorite place, the lake. Lake Fun is a picture book, and Zoe is a chapter book. Both of them have stories about the things my kids did on lake vacations. They both have journals that let readers draw and write about their own lake experiences.

The paragraph I just wrote, and this one too, that’s marketing! It’s about getting your product or service in front of people. Then convincing them they HAVE to buy it. If you’re interested in checking out my books, just take a look at my book link on rindabeach.com. It has a drop-down menu with all three titles.
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The pictures on the right are about my search for an agent. In 2022-2024, I was querying agents with my zoo book. The main character, that blue poison dart frog. Would you believe he was playing hide and seek at the zoo?

I stopped querying in 2024 because I’ve been super- focused on writing a middle grade novel about the founding fathers, the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. This is the third year I’ve been revising and editing it, but it’s still not done. It’s getting closer, and I hope to send it out to agents sometime this year. Here’s to hope . . . I hear it springs eternal 😊

​​

​Part 3 – The New Things I’m Writing: Look below, and you’ll see my new story ideas from Christmas 2022. Back then I had six ideas. Three new; three old. I fleshed out community helpers, but I got stuck; I planned to get back to it, but . . . the Founding Fathers took over. 

​I spent the first three weeks trying to find my way into Chapter 1. I needed a ribbon, a thread that would weave its way through all 57 chapters. After three tries, I found it – in the last man standing, the last one to die.

That man – Charles Carroll of Carrollton; Charley to me, has become a friend. By June of 2023, I’d written 38 chapters, and that’s when I hit another snag . . . I thought one founder signed the Declaration of Independence late – it turned out to be seven. Yikes!

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​That’s when I changed my goal from writing all 57 chapters in one novel, to breaking it into a middle grade series. It will make it easier for kids to read, to wrap their minds around. The first ten chapters, the first book. The timeline – from the Declaration of Independence to Yorktown. The 12 Days of Christmas 2024 helped me put it on paper.

                             Tomorrow – a new idea to try, and a few old ones I want to save, just in case.
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Part 4 – The New Things I’m Trying: Look below, and you’ll see a combination of something new, and three ideas I want to save. Leveling my blogs, a Teacher Pay Teacher account, and a private Facebook group are things I don’t want to lose track of. The time to implement them hasn’t come yet. So I’ll keep them on the back burner for another year.
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My newest idea – to read aloud on Fridays. I found a 4th grade teacher who’s willing to welcome me into her room, and I’m excited about the opportunity. Once a month I hope I find books that resonate with her, her curriculum, and her kids.

I hope I can show them things about reading and writing that I’ve learned. I try my best on every sentence and paragraph I write, and so do teachers and kids. If opportunities arise, I’d love to expand this idea. But I’m going to take my time and let it develop. I’ll let this idea take me where it wants me to go.
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​Thank you for the sixth time to Julie Hedlund. Each year her program helps me to see growth, especially when I feel like I’m spinning my wheels. But I also appreciate looking at why I’ve fallen short, and what I could do differently in the new year.

Meet The Imagination Library – You’ve probably heard of Dolly Parton and her Imagination Library. Did you know she gives books away to kids from zero to age five? Each child gets twelve specially selected books a year, without ever paying a dime, thanks to Dolly and her local partners.
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Dolly’s photo was taken in 1983. Did you know the imagination library started in 1995? Her inspiration came from her father. He couldn’t read or write so Dolly started with preschoolers from her home in Sevier County, Tennessee. Did you know Dolly sends books to kids in five countries today, including the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and Republic of Ireland?

Did you know Dolly gives over two million books away each month? When she was growing up, she believed in dreams. Kids are still dreaming, and books have the seeds to help them grow.

Did you know according to their website Dolly registered 3,197,250 kids and counting? Or that she has given away 260,942,488 books so far? Impressive, and Dolly’s not done. Not yet!
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                   To learn more, check out: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library | USA, UK, IE, CA, AU
  
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How This Post Came to Be – A year ago I saw a post online from the Imagination Library with reading tips for families. I saved it because those tips, they were great.

They’re not just about literacy. They’re also about building oral language and vocabulary skills for preschoolers. If you’re curious about the kind of books Dolly and the Imagination Library picked, click on this link: United States Book List - Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. And now the link has been updated . . .  for babies arriving in 2025!   

​                                                                                           And now, those tips . . .

​Pointing, naming, talking, playing games – they’re so natural. I’m glad Dolly highlighted them.
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They’re what my kids did, what my grandkids do now.
They’re also great tips to use beyond the book, in everyday life around the house. 

And now, two book picks . . .​
Note – These titles stayed the same in 2025.

I picked Good Morning because it had a + sign beside it. That means it has bilingual text
or Hispanic content. So does another book from Richard Scarry. I hope I found the
right covers for you; I only had the titles to go on.

I picked Madeline’s 1 2 3 because it had a dot, like an asterisk. That means it’s a new book.
Madeline has been around forever, but 1 2 3 is a new title. There are two other new ones on the list. Writers like me hope that someday . . . Dolly will pick one of our stories too.

The titles include shapes, homes, family, animals, body parts, and nursery rhymes.
You and your child will have lots of pages to turn, things to name, and questions to answer.
​Enjoy! Time flies!

Ask questions. Talk about words and pictures. Pick books. Set goals and rewards.

Your preschooler is growing into a reader! Just look at the skills they’re learning
​and the kinds of books they get from the Imagination Library.

And now, those book picks . . . 
Note – These titles stayed the same in 2025.

K is for Kindness, is about being nice. That’s a social skill. It’s also
 an ABC book; a literary skill, and littles need both.

Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night is more than a truck book. It’s also a bedtime story
with rhyming text and great illustrations. Plus, it’s a series of stories . . . with steam trains,
jet planes, and speed boats who need sleep too.

Animal stories are still in the library, along with a variety of others. Here’s the link if
​you’d like to check them out . . . United States Book List - Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
​And now the link has been updated . . .  for babies arriving in 2025!

Tomorrow – Reading tips for toddlers ages 3-4 and 4-5

Point to letters and numbers. Find a story in the illustrations.
Talk about plot and characters. THESE are the skills that prepare kids to read!
 
And now, two more book picks . . .
Note – Both titles are gone in 2025.

Corduroy is a book my kids loved, at home and at school.
It’s the story of a teddy bear who only wants a home.

I got The Snowy Day in second grade. I was excited to see both books
on Dolly’s 2024 list. And so disappointed to see them leave.

But don’t worry! There are still twelve great titles to help your
child learn about the world around them.

Tell the story. Write and draw responses. Talk about words and story meaning.
It’s almost time for Kindergarten!

And now, two more book picks . . .

Note – These titles stayed the same in 2025.

Danbi’s Favorite Day comes from her home in Korea – Children’s Day. Kids
the world over will love how she finds a way to celebrate.

Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! This is the custom book every child
gets when they turn five. Its job – to make them feel confident and excited about starting school.

And the other ten, they include titles about books, folk tales, and school.
One even started as a song, Dolly’s Coat of Many Colors.

No more tips. This used to be the last set of books for kids born in 2019. Now it’s for kids born in 2020.
And the last two books . . .
Note – These titles stayed the same in 2025.​

​Can you ever have too much snow? The animals in Rabbit’s Snow Dance
think so. . . especially in the summertime!

Are you ever as busy as a bee? Find out what they really do in You Are a Honey Bee.
It’s the first in a STEM nonfiction picture book series for young readers.

And the other titles, they’re as diverse as these two!