I am a fairy godmother in training. I bestow kisses and dispense hugs to my two favorite elves, who work hard at being good and playing nice. I grant the occasional wish too, though I have to remind them I'm not the Money Wizard. I believe in hand-me-downs, whether toys or clothes. It's a value that's out of sync with our disposable society, I suppose, but I work my magic where I can. I am paper trained. I put myself through grad school for journalism at that awkward in-between stage, when Woodward and Bernstein were ancient history, but the digital age hadn't yet dawned. I was almost alone in refusing to see newspapers as sacrosanct, but I absorbed their core values: to remain skeptical, do my own legwork, be my own best editor, and to pick words like wild mushrooms--the wrong ones can kill you. The picture book reviews I've posted here at Viewpoints come from my blog, Book Buds Kidlit Reviews (www.bookbuds.net). I'm so obsessed, I also co-founded a contest called the Children's and YA Bloggers' Literary Awards (www.cybils.com). I hope you'll join me at either of those sites, or here at Viewpoints as we enter a new age of consumer advocacy.