June 2016 – Today's Kidlit Book

My mother and her twin sister taken in 1913

June 29 is Camera Day. Cameras actually date back to the ancient Chinese and Greeks, but photographic cameras are much more recent. The first successful camera image was made in 1816 by a French inventor named Nicéphore Niépce. Through the years, camera technology advanced from daguerreotypes to calotypes, dry plates, film, and finally digital cameras. I like the idea of celebrating the camera because it helps us learn so much and preserve memories.

How to celebrate today? Take a picture, look at old photographs, go to the movies, watch a documentary.

From Recessional by Rupyard Kipling 1897 (Written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee with thoughts of the country’s Christian heritage and fears of its demise)

The tumult and the shouting dies;

The Captains and the Kings depart:

Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,

An humble and contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget – lest we forget!

“Here comes the sun…. and, I say It’s all right.” The lyrics from the Beatles hit song from 1969 remind us of good days ahead. Summer is a time for fun in the sun. It’s not the time to throw caution to the wind and take chances with sun safety. June 1-8 is Sun Safety Week. Did you know: You can get sunburned even on a cloudy day; on average, children get 3 times as much exposure as adults; concrete, sand, and water reflect 80% to 90% of the sun’s UV rays. Find more facts and information at sunsafetyalliance.org. Look cool and be cool in the sun: slather on sunscreen; put on a floppy hat; wear sunglasses. Have fun this summer and be safe!

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years…Genesis 1:14