Here’s hoping each of you had a great holiday weekend! I savored my time with family and particularly the time I spent reading and playing with William and other young children in our family.
Today’s Cover Story takes a look at Chaucer’s First Winter which is noted as a book for children ages 4-8. This charming winter scene and little bear jumped from the shelf to my eyes recently during a regular outing in a bookstore. First, there is the name “Chaucer” which is perhaps a unique one for a children’s book…and I decided right there it was just the book to kick off our entry into the week we turn the calendar to December. Illustrator Henry Cole is a special friend of RIF, he participated in our 40th Anniversary Book The Art of Reading. Let’s open the cover and see what Chaucer has to share with us!
Happy reading,
Carol
Cover Story is a feature every Monday on Rasco From RIF where I share with you the “face” of a book that has caught my eye or that readers have submitted. Cover Story does not discuss the content of the book. I hope you will share your favorite “cover story” with me now and then!
RIF wishes you a wonderful Thanskgiving celebration.
Please note the RIF office will be closed from 3 p.m., November 25 until Monday morning, November 30. I look forward to sharing more with you via Rasco from RIF on the 30th! And if you haven’t had a chance to read a recent posting about Thanksgiving, please take time to read this entry: http://bit.ly/2E9148.
As we prepare to celebrate a time of thanksgiving, many thoughts turn to the cold winter which some parts of our country are already experiencing, other areas will begin to be colder day by day. A beautiful cover on this book which this time I can say holds within a beautiful story as well! A nice one for the season, enjoy!
Happy Reading!
Carol
Cover Story is a feature every Monday on Rasco From RIF where I share with you the “face” of a book that has caught my eye or that readers have submitted. Cover Story does not discuss the content of the book. I hope you will share your favorite “cover story” with me now and then!
I spent Friday getting ready to fly to Arkansas where I will be for the next week visiting with family and celebrating Thanksgiving. And of course I will be spending a considerable amount of my time here with William (you know, my first grandchild born in April!). Thanksgiving in my home county, Arkansas County, is also the period when duck season opens and the Wings Over the Prairie Festival is held. Or as the natives called this festival when I was growing up in DeWitt, it’s The Duck Calling Contest given the World Championship Duck Caller is named at this event each year.
So what is duck calling all about? Shelby Free, a 16-year-old lady from Stuttgart, Arkansas who was crowned the 2008 Women’s World Champion in 2008 has made a short 30 second video that will allow you to hear champion quality duck calling if you are not familiar with it. Shelby first won this high honor at age 14. She opened the ProLiteracy Conference held in Arkansas last year; there were some surprised attendees in the audience to hear this young woman bring so much sound from a small wooden duck caller!
Another of the favorite events at the Festival is the World Duck Gumbo Cook-Off; it is quite the party I am told! The Cook-Off was added after I moved to DC; and family visiting has kept me from the festival in recent years. I’ll be back though, someday.
This year there is a great new picture book to add to the duck hunting mania: Gadwall, King of the Ducksis a fun story written by Dan Davidson, a family physician from Searcy, Arkansas (home of Arkansas’ current Governor Mike Beebe) and illustrated through cut block technique by his daughter-in-law Bethany Davidson who is a graphic designer in California. The book was called to my attention by a friend from college days who is a neighbor of Dr. Davidson and his wife.
Gadwall is a great read aloud book for a family with children in the age grouping of 4-8 years of age in particular. It is a story that finds Gadwall coming to the rescue of his duck colleagues to lead them to Mexico for the winter and helping them to avoid those duck hunters in Arkansas and other places along the way! Gadwall comes up with a great innovation for his “guide” work at night, a very impressive duck and a great book for William to learn in the future more about his grandmother’s home territory.
Quack, quack, happy reading!
Carol
WEEK’S END closes the work week with some thoughts, comments, feelings about some book and/or event recently experienced. If a book, it may be a children’s book or an adult book or both. If an event, it may be literacy-related or not. But it comes at week’s end.
In Southeastern Idaho on the 544,000-acre reservation of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe with a population of 6,400, there are two schools: one high school and the Shoshone-Bannock Early Childhood Program. The Shoshone-Bannock Early Childhood program, located in Fort Hall, has participated with RIF for 13 years and currently services 75 children. Elizabeth Earnshaw, the RIF Authorizing Official notes many of the children are from low-income families where they are “living in survival mode.”
Marvel Eagle, the RIF Coordinator since 2003, adds the number of RIF participants could be larger but many children live far from the site of the Head Start program. Although the Shoshone-Bannock Early Childhood program faces obstacles of lack of funding and distance, this resilient program continuously perseveres. From sending out four buses to different locations to pick up children to partnering with local libraries, the staff members of this program have worked relentlessly in pursuit of RIF’s mission to motivate young readers.
Earnshaw notes that parents and children are excited on the RIF distribution day. Volunteers read to the children and tell them Native stories, and parents help write names in the children’s books. Eagle declares, “A parent stated her child was happy to get a book of her own to take home; the parent read it to her every night.” Eagle continues, “RIF makes a difference in children’s lives by giving books to low-income families that may not be able to buy books. Literacy is an important part of Early Childhood Programs; their letter and number recognition has improved. Remember, there is no library on the reservation, and even with that, if a child has a choice between a book or an arcade and still chooses the book, that shows me that we are making a difference.”
The National Book Foundation has just announced the 2009 Young People’s Literature winner: Claudette Colvin, Twice Towards Justiceby Phillip Hoose. From the book jacket: On March 2, 1955, a slim, bespectacled teenager refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama….But instead of being celebrated, as Rosa Parks would be when she took the same stand nine months later, Claudette found herself shunned by many of her classmates and dismissed as an unfit role model by the black leaders of Montgomery.
As Phillip Hoose noted in his acceptance speech tonight as reported on Twitter: My job on this book was to pull somebody who was about to disappear under history’s rug out from there. On stage with Mr. Hoose as he accepted the award this evening was Claudette Colvin.
A blog entry reviewing the winning book at One Minute Book Reviews includes a video in comment one; NPR also featured the book this week. Thank you to Janice Harayda and to Mitali Perkins for these links.
Thank you, Phillip Hoose for sharing this story and congratulations to you and Claudette Colvin!
UPDATES 11/19/09 Read in SLJ about Hoose’s tenacity in trying to locate and talk with Claudette! TeachingBooks has a copy of the video noted above as well as a link to teaching materials for the book.
Last year as I flew from D.C. to be with family for Thanksgiving I sat by a gentleman who struck up a conversation as we landed; he asked if I was going to have a big Thanksgiving. I noted it is always “big” for me to be with family whether the gathering is large in numbers or not. He asked about my family’s traditions and I told him about the book Thanksgiving at the Tappletons‘ by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler which is a story shared at our family’s Thanksgiving celebration; I had just blogged about the book and my family’s Thanksgiving traditions and memories and invited him to read about it.
The following week I received a voice mail from my new acquaintance from the plane, and he shared with me the only thing that really bothered him about my blog posting was the reference to “Indian headdresses of paper feathers.” He went on to note he is an enrolled tribal member (he did not say what tribe, my memory has lost his name and I received no business card), and my reference in general to the headdresses made him think that perhaps I did not know about the real role of the American Indian in this “feast” or “festival.” He challenged me to read and study 1621: A New Look at Thanksgivingby Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac with photographs by Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson; the book is published by National Geographic Society.
What am I taking away from my study thus far which I realize has not gone deep at all? In brief, from the words of Nancy Brennan, Executive Director, Plimoth Plantation and Margaret M. Bruchac, Wampanoag Indian Program Advisory Committee in the Foreword to 1621. What you will read in these pages represents new thinking about the people and events of 1621. This book is just one part of a museum-wide effort to reinterpret the 1621 harvest feast, through books, videos, educational materials, and a reenactment that gave birth to these photographs. We invite you to join us here on this shore and view the past from a different perspective.
What will I do with this “different perspective” I am gaining? One colleague asked if I am doing away with Thanksgiving celebrations for my family. Goodness, no! But I will work to bring this new outlook to the table, to make sure the children and adults in our circle of family and friends have copies of 1621;and I will work to nurture an ongoing interest among family and friends to share my own study of the American Indian, past andpresent. For me personally, I want most of all to have front and center in my consciousness at Thanksgiving what Debbie Reese wrote in a posting last year when she said:
What I’m getting at, in part, is that I don’t want to be a player in your story. I don’t want to be on your stage. I want you to see me and Pueblo people (in my case) as a people that existed and exists on its own merits—not as minor characters, or colorful ones, in the story that America tells about America.
You want to know about Native people? Do you really want to know about them? Or do you just need/want them so you can ‘do your thing’ (celebrate Thanksgiving)? You want me to tell you what I do for Thanksgiving. I understand that, but I think it more important that you ask about (in my case) the Pueblo people. Who are we? Where are we? What are OUR celebrations? When are they? What are they about?
The “…and present” I noted is a key part of my continuing study. Perhaps the nugget that has stood out most for me at this point was reading again in a Debbie Reese posting October 22, 2009 titled: American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving when she shared how exciting it was to read a pamphlet titled the same as this October 2009 posting; the pamphlet which can be downloaded free of charge is a piece for teachers (and parents and others who work with children) for grades 4-8 prepared by the National Museum of the American Indian. So why was she excited to read this piece? ”As I read through it, I was struck by the verb tense.” And what was that verb tense? Not just a statement about the past but an acknowledgement of the American Indian presence among us today, the present.
I hear you, Debbie, and have several copies of The Good Luck CatandJingle Dancer among other titles in the “to be wrapped pile” for the coming holidays for presentation to special young friends.
As noted, I have only begun to study the American Indian as I should; this is not an issue I will pursue at Thanksgiving-only nor absolve myself simply by giving books portraying present day American Indian children.
Blog readers: Will you join me in this study? Will you share resources with all of us so we might explore in-depth?
Greetings! Several RIF staffers just returned from the Miami Book Fair International. In its 26th year, the fair is one of the nation’s premier literary festivals with over 350 authors and 200,000 attendees celebrating books and reading!
RIF participated in the fair for a second year as part of its Multicultural Literacy Campaign. The fair is the perfect venue to share the joy of reading with many children and families from diverse communities throughout South Florida. Thanks to the generous support of Macy’s, RIF was not only able to give away free books but was also able to provide a culturally rich literacy experience through the “RIF Reading Garden” tent located in the fair’s popular Children’s Alley.
Planted seeds at the Miami Book Fair International.
The RIF Reading Garden was awash in green hues and invited all visitors to immerse themselves in an interactive experience that engaged all of their senses and brought stories to life. Each visitor had the opportunity to plant a seed in one of two large flower beds, participate in garden-themed craft activities, enjoy read alouds in English and Spanish, and even show off their dancing skills with some impromptu hokey pokey and salsa. There were plenty of fun giveaways too – books, backpacks, stickers, planting pails, flower pots, seeds and more! Upon exiting the tent, each visitor earned their green thumb. Mission accomplished! The RIF Reading Garden planted the joy of reading in children and provided showers of inspiration for them to grow into lifelong readers. You’ve got to see it to believe it! Check out these fun photos.
Recently Betsy of A Fuse #8 Production posted a listing of books she wishes she had discovered (and that they had been available at that time in some cases) during her childhood/youth ages; the concept came about following a conversation Betsy and Molly of Ten Block Walk had on this topic of “wished for books in earlier years.” I found it fun to think through the same for me, especially given I am a bit older (more than a bit, Carol) than these two. Following Betsy’s bravery of including photos from various ages and stages, I decided to be brave as well. I am certain I risk being disowned by certain females in Arkansas…but my dad will still love me! I decided this week is a particularly good time to post this travel back in time as I am feeling a bit older than usual given my eldest turns 36 tomorrow! How have 36 years already gone by, ever so quickly?
Betsy set forth this premise: You have a time machine. In this time machine you may take seven books. Your mission is to visit yourself, in the past, and to give yourself the books you wish you would have read as a kid. They can be old books or new books, it doesn’t matter. But they must be books you’ve run across as an adult, loved, and you know would have appealed to (or been good for) little you. Ages 2-6 Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Alas, I was nicknamed “Bossy” early by my two younger sisters, so I would have deemed Lily as ALL about me! And I would have loved the red boots, oh, my. This photo was taken at the time of the county fair by my great uncle who had “the studio” in my hometown of DeWitt, Arkansas. Each year my grandfather gave each of us girls a new cowgirl hat and new boots for the county fair, maybe he got us the flannel shirts for this particular year as well. But prized possessions were they all. Ages 6-9 Any of the books of poetry by Shel Silverstein
My parents and my grandparents instilled in us girls a love of words; my grandmother would have savored Silverstein’s poems and would have seen them as great read alouds for us girls…and we would have giggled and giggled! The photo is the annual summer fishing rodeo in August of 1954 at a local reservoir; our county is a large rice-growing county. I caught the single largest catfish! My friends pictured here were the other winners: L to R: Me, Nancy, Becky and Donnie. I was the odd duck that year, Carol doesn’t end in “y” or “ie”! You can believe it was HOT, HUMID and MOSQUITO-filled air! 9-10 Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly Well, first I know you are wondering as am I…what in the world were my mother and I gazing upon toward the ceiling? Sister Martha on the right is smirking like maybe we were tricked into looking up in that strange gaze. Since Martha’s Brownie troop did not meet the same day as Mother and I had Girl Scouts, I am assuming this was Girl Scout Sunday when all the Girls Scouts and Brownies in DeWitt attended the same church. I imagine ministers in this yearly rotation of hosting all these girls did not look forward to that day of squirming, but I bet we girls were better than the Boy Scouts! And I assume you can tell the curtains are a pattern of the late 50’s, early 60’s? Yes, greens, reds, black and maybe a chartreuse splash here and there. As to the books, I don’t know HOW I missed Anne of Green Gables while growing up, but I would have read a book a day or more of that series and Calpurnia would have been a best friend! 12-15 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak I recently read this book and knew before this time travel posting came along it would have been a book report in Mrs. Jane Davis’ or Mrs. Noe’s English class; but not Miss Ethyl Oates Miller’s class, she only allowed classics of the truly classic era. Period. Over. Out. I hope to write more about The Book Thief soon; I found it one of the best pieces of literature I have read in a long time. Now, this photo shows that I was still getting perms, tight perms, what were we thinking? 17-18 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier If we even called it YA back in the late 60’s, I don’t remember. But I skipped that stage and went to adult books. I liked good mysteries, and I found beautiful descriptive passages in the same category as beautiful symphonies…these two books would have each filled one of those requirements. To this day I recommend The Devil in the White City to anyone who asks me for a good book recommendation…I see so many people on planes reading it not only in flight but as they disembark. And I remember when reading Cold Mountain I would periodically have to stop to simply allow what I had just read to diffuse itself completely within me and avoid ‘overload.’ So, to love literature so much, how do I reconcile that with what appears to be not just “big hair” but “huge hair”? I mean that is a lot of reading time spent on making that hair so voluminous! I don’t know, but it is all mine. Whew!
The combination of author Jack Prelutsky using the word “Umbrellaphant” and Carin Berger’s terrific and perfect illustration of an umbrellaphant drew me quickly to this book’s cover….but how did I miss it in 2006 when published? I am glad to have found this word and picture delight recommended in starred reviews for ages 4-8 or higher, will now read it. I know there are certain to be more wonderful words and illustrations awaiting me, let’s go explore!
Happy Reading!
Carol
Cover Story is a feature every Monday on Rasco From RIF where I share with you the “face” of a book that has caught my eye or that readers have submitted. Cover Story does not discuss the content of the book. I hope you will share your favorite “cover story” with me now and then!
Earnshaw notes that parents and children are excited on the RIF distribution day. Volunteers read to the children and tell them Native stories, and parents help write names in the children’s books. Eagle declares, “A parent stated her child was happy to get a book of her own to take home; the parent read it to her every night.” Eagle continues, “RIF makes a difference in children’s lives by giving books to low-income families that may not be able to buy books. Literacy is an important part of Early Childhood Programs; their letter and number recognition has improved. Remember, there is no library on the reservation, and even with that, if a child has a choice between a book or an arcade and still chooses the book, that shows me that we are making a difference.”
