May 19, Pat @ Pen Your Own Adventures - Stories to Our Children

Families celebrating moms writing their life stories? How fortunate I felt to be part of such a positive literacy celebration! Many of the moms were Spanish-speaking and felt so proud that their families were at a party to honor these new writers. The room was decorated, the food line was popular, but what made the event unique was that mothers were proudly carrying the stories they’d written and illustrated. And imagine! The dedicated staff of Arlington Public Library (TX) had typed the stories, scanned the art, and produced a hard-back book that’s now part of the library’s collection. The more I listened to the staff talk about the program, Arlington Reads, the more impressed I was by the vision of this library system to be a literacy leader in its community. How I treasure such creative literacy leaders.


Savor summer reading!

15 Día Nuggets: #9 Literacy-focused Craft Ideas for Children and Families

One more Nugget today, resulting in #s 1-9 available individually and as a downloadable packet.

To assist those of you planning Día celebrations at your schools, libraries, etc., we’re sharing 15 Día Nuggets, 15 lists of 15 items to assist you in your planning. During our second Díapalooza during April 2011, we’ll showcase the 15 Día Dynamos, 15 Mora Award winners and the 15 Día Nuggets, etc.

15 Día Nuggets for Día’s 15th Anniversary

Nugget #9 Literacy-focused Craft Ideas for Children and Families

Here’s a wonderful opportunity to involve teen or college helpers and service organizations.

1. Make paper plate clocks, printing “Time to Read” on each clock face. Decorate.

2. Embellish canvas bags with fabric paint and use as book bags.

3. Create personalized bookmarks, bookends, and bookcases (use cardboard boxes) using stick-on foam shapes and gems and colored stickers. Use blank stickers too, so kids can write a reading slogan or book recommendations.

4. Plant a Poetry Garden. Write poems, paste them on sticks and plant them outside of the school or library.

5. Make accordion books with the last panel pre-printed with the words LOVES READING! Children can write their name on the beginning panels and decorate the book with collage, colored pencils or paints.

6. Make papier-mâché globes and let each child note the different countries they’ve read about with colored sticker dots. Use the globes in a display of books set in other countries.

7. Make memory books with stories and pictures about reading and books.

8. Take photos of kids reading in a special chair (a reading throne) they’ve helped decorate. Buy cardboard or foam photo frames that each child can decorate.

9. Construct masks of favorite characters from books.

10. Distribute envelopes containing a pre-made paper booklet and cutouts of pictures and photos. Each child writes a story about the pictures and uses them to illustrate the story.

11. For very young children, create reading puppets using cutouts glued to craft sticks.

12. Use recycled papers (printed on one side) to make personal reading logs. Use recycled book jackets or patterned papers for covers.

13. Create necklaces of words.

14. Create a Día Alphabet mural or frieze, associating a word or short phrase about Día with each letter of the alphabet such as “F – Families.” Decorate and hang on the wall or use as a banner in a hallway.

15. Use a template to create book-shaped magnets. Color image with colored pencils and laminate, then glue magnet to back.

Literacy Quote of the Week

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.

~ Chinese proverb ~

Happy New Year

Dear Blog Readers,

Hope you are enjoying happy and healthy holidays. We’ve had snow in Santa Fe, and it’s plenty cold, but the sky is blue and beautiful above the snow-covered hills. My son, husband, and I were talking about the gifts we’re grateful for last night, and certainly one of mine is the pleasure of bookjoy. Aren’t we lucky to be readers and to want to share that pleasure with family, friends, others? One of my favorite books this year was Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. What a journey into the diversity and yet the shared longings in the human heart.

What about you? What were some of your favorite books?

We welcome your comments and suggestions for sharing bookjoy in 2010. Wishing each of you good books, good health, good friends.

Pat

Coming Soon: New Bookjoy Logo

In April 2008, with the help of Laurina Cashin, I began this bookjoy blog. We include what I said then in the right hand column: I’m not sure when I coined the word “bookjoy.” I’ve been delighted, though, at how readers smile when I use it. For about a year, I’ve been working on a logo that we could use for this blog and on my web site, etc. Good news: it’s done, and soon we’ll be posting it.

Soon I’ll also be able to happily say that my book on seven creativity practices for educators and their students is also finished. I’m working on the final edits trying hard to include all I want to share about how important educators are, how developing our creative side enriches our teaching and life, and about how our students also need us to foster the seven practices in them.

I hope that you’re enjoying a good summer. What are you reading?

Busy Holidays

EEK! Are we all feeling: how can it be December, 2008? I hope that you enjoyed a happy weekend with family and friends. I am so grateful for the pleasure I find in being a writer and speaker. Next year at this time, two new picture books will be out: Gracias/Thanks (a boy reflecting on what he’s grateful for), illustrated by John Parra, and then Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Christmas (a Latino version of the popular “Twelve Days of Christmas,”) by first-time illustrator Magaly Morales. Both illustrators are new for me, and I’m excited about their work. Grateful too.

Sorry to have been so silent. I’ve been finishing a book of teen love poems due out for Valentine’s Day 2010, enduring a kitchen renovation :0, and I spoke at NCTE on, “Our Community: Creative, Connected, Committed.” Inspiring attendees.

My wonderful web managers, Bobbie Combs and Laurina Cashin, nudged me to start this blog because they knew I wanted to promote excitement about sharing bookjoy. I share bookjoy at this time of the year by giving books, of course, and trying to find the right book for the recipient. How do you share bookjoy as holiday sounds and thoughts of the coming year swirl in the air?

Wishing you happy holidays,

Pat

Books for Your Día Celebration

It's natural to have book giveaways at your Día and Bookjoy celebrations. First Book , a 2008 Día partner, can help provide books at other times of the year too, as the organization is doing for the South Carolina Department of Education, by supplying 300,000 new, free children's books for the 2008 Back to School Book Donation. There are certain eligibility requirements; an entity must: (1) serve children where at least 50% are from low-income households, (2) be a Title I or Title I-eligible school, or (3) be a military family support program. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE GO TO http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/bookcampaign/.

Program and Book Ideas for Hispanic Heritage Month

Last week on ALSC-L, librarians were posting ideas about Hispanic Heritage Month. It's satisfying reading the various posts that encourage taking advantage of the resources available for Día de los Ninos/Día de los Libros when looking for programming ideas or relevant bibliographies because it reinforces that Día is not a one-day event. Día is our opportunity to link all children to books, languages and cultures every day -- let's celebrate Día all year long!

Here are some links to check out:
Texas Library Association -- http://www.texasdia.org/
ALSC list "Growing Up Latino in the USA" http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/alscresources/booklists/GrowingUpLatino.cfm
Jamie Naidoo's webjunction powerpoint and resources related to planning services and selecting materials for and about Latino Youth. Available at:
http://www.webjunction.org/home/articles/content/455411

Hispanic Heritage Month

For many, September now means Hispanic Heritage Month which begins tomorrow and is celebrated from September 15 – October 15. It’s easy to forget that in September 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim the first National Hispanic Heritage Week, an observance that was expanded in 1988 to a month-long celebration. Why begin a celebration mid-month? President Johnson was from Texas and grateful to the Mexican-American population that had supported him, and Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain on September 16. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Chile also celebrate their independence between Sept. 15 – Oct. 15.

Too often, as we know, celebrations = commercialization so companies use the events to sell their products. Educational publishers can do this too, and I know people can feel cynical about this. Latinos constitute 14% of the U.S. population. Of course, I wish that their voices and contributions were appropriately represented in our history, publishing, universities, sciences, and government, but we have a long way to go. In spite of our national rhetoric (and rhetoric is in season this fall), many in our communities still doubt the full worth of their fellow Latino community members. I see and hear this as I listen and observe Latino children, graduate students and professionals not to mention those Latinos daily facing the challenges of limited economic resources.

Do I wish we didn’t need celebrations like Hispanic Heritage Month and El /El dia de los libros, Children's Day/Book Day, that Latinos and Asian, Black, Native and Arab Americans were fully incorporated into our national fabric? Sure, but in 2008 I still think we need to make special efforts to promote pride in home languages and cultures. ¡Qué vivan las culturas! May cultures thrive! Let’s share and enjoy books by Latinos during Hispanic Heritage Month and all year long.

Border Book Festival

I just read about an exciting book festival that happened over the past weekend in Mesilla New Mexico, the 14th Border Book Festival. With a children’s storytelling tent, a Book and Pet Parade, author visits at schools the previous week, as well as many other events for children, adults and families, it sounded like a Bookjoy! event to me! Thanks to the Paper Tigers blog for the link.

Please Send Us Your Creative Día Ideas!

The heart of annual Día celebrations is promoting literacy and bookjoy. Organizers often schedule puppet shows, storytellers including bilingual storytellers, author and illustrator presentations, student performances based on books, and, of course, book give-aways. Many Día celebrations also include food, music, crafts and games. I’m particularly excited when books are part of at least some of the crafts and games—making book covers or a book-related craft, book bingo or lotería, book walk instead of a cake walk. Since all of us committed to Día want to know what others are doing, on this blog I’d like to collect many Creative Día Ideas, maybe 100.In 50 words or less, please send us some of the creative ideas that help make your Día a success, one idea per numbered item. Including your contact information is optional. I’ll start the list:

1. In areas where children may not have book cases, secure small, sturdy cardboard boxes and have materials so that children and their families can decorate their book boxes. This creates a good opportunity for stressing the importance of family reading and of having a special place for books including library books.