After learning about Maurice Sendak's passing yesterday, it made me think about how much he changed the way children read. (May he rest in peace.)

In the past, children's and young adult stories were always simple, without much chaos, and safe. Perhaps a little too perfect. Books of our youth have evolved since the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and even in the early 2000s. Today, books for children, tweens, and young adults stand out more because authors have broken away from the traditional storyline to give readers a deeper look into the real world.

How do we instill and enable creativity in children with modern technology? How can we create stories in a digital format that will capture the interest of a child? How can we show children how to use technology in order to tell their own stories?  

How many of you knew what you wanted to be when you grew up? I know adults who are still trying to figure that out. 

Would you consider yourself a self-driven individual? Have you been this way since childhood or is this a skill you've acquired? Do you consider yourself different from the rest?

Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Google+ are helping people keep in touch with friends, family, colleagues, and coworkers. But do you think social networks are helping promote "online" cliques? Could they have a positive or negative impact on generations to come?

Social networks have changed the way our American culture interacts with one another. In fact, they help promote cultural diversity and awareness. For example, someone from the United States could connect with someone in India and vice versa.

I've talked about pictures having a way of telling stories. What about art in animation as a way of telling a cultural story? I came across an article in the NY Times about a Japanese artist named Tabaimo. In the article she says, "It was the experience of living in a more multicultural society that changed her work. Meeting Japanese people who had been raised elsewhere overturned her notions about what being Japanese meant." 

Every year school administrators, teachers, and librarians work together to keep certain books off shelves, off reading lists, and off limits to students. Many parents are headed in the same direction, banning books based on swearing, racism, sexual orientation, profanity, etc. without understanding the author's true intention.

Language is part of the larger culture of a community. The function of language allows us to communicate ideas/feelings with others and use it as a way to identify ourselves within a cultural group. We often use specific words or phrases to express ourselves in different situations. 

Have you ever heard someone speak a phrase or sentence that means something entirely different? This is what I refer to as inventive language - creative words/phrases that have become part of our mainstream culture. 

Good stories explore ideas, feelings, and experiences of your characters on a deeper level. They also explore certain themes and ideas to convey a message. What about telling a story another way? What about a photographic story? We've all heard the adage: "a picture is worth a thousand words." So, how can a complex idea be conveyed in a single image?

Let's take a look at how themes help tell a story in photography. 

Has America proven to be post-racial just because Barrack Obama is the first African-American to be elected president? How about the attitudes of Generation X and Generation Y: Millennials? Let's take a closer look.