by Ann Parker, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona
Today’s post is a continuation of the presentation with Jerry Pinkney, Jacqueline Woodson, and Vaunda M. Nelson that I attended on March 10, 2013 at the Tucson Festival of Books. The presentation was entitled “The Choice to Make a Difference”. This week, Vaunda M. Nelson describes the writing of her book No Crystal Stair. Read More
by Ann Parker, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona
This is the second blog in a series sharing a presentation by Jacqueline Woodson, Jerry Pinkney, and Vaunda M. Nelson entitled “The Choice to Make a Difference” at the 2013 Tucson Festival of Books. Here, Jacqueline Woodson shares her process for writing her book Each Kindness. The book tells the story of a young girl, Chloe, who ignores the new girl in school, even though Maya tries to make friends. After Maya leaves, Chloe realizes she missed an opportunity to show kindness to another person. Read More
by Ann Parker, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona
This month’s blog will share the discussion of three wonderful children’s book creators (Jacqueline Woodson, Jerry Pinkney, and Vaunda M. Nelson) at the 2013 Tucson Festival of Books in March, 2013. The presentation was entitled “The Choice to Make a Difference.” In it, the authors each discussed the creation of one of their books and answered questions from the audience about writing and illustrating books. In this first blog, Jerry Pinkney shares his work on a book he illustrated entitled Sweethearts of Rhythm. Read More
by Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
“…Myth might be defined simply as ‘other people’s religion,’…”
Joseph Campbell.
While folktales and fables are traditional literature of a secular nature, myths are sacred narratives. To people within a particular religious group, myths are true accounts of past events. Myths explain how the world came to be and how people’s behavior, societal customs, and institutional norms were formed. The main characters in myths are usually gods or heroes with supernatural powers and the humans with whom they interact. “…Myth might be defined simply as ‘other people’s religion,’ to which an equivalent definition of religion would be ‘misunderstood mythology,’ the misunderstanding consisting in the interpretation of mythic metaphors as references to hard fact” (Campbell 27). Read More
by Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
Fables are another form of traditional literature. They are short stories written in prose or verse. The main characters are most often anthropomorphized animals whose behaviors demonstrate moral lessons. Fable tellers and writers end their stories with a maxim, or a statement that encapsulates the moral. The most famous fables in Western culture are attributed to a Greek named Aesop. Read More
By Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
The week’s selection The Parade: A Stampede of Stories about Ananse, The Trickster Spider was selected for grades three through five on the 2012 USBBY Outstanding International Books list. This collection was written by KP Kojo, the pen name of Nii Ayikwei Parkes, who was born and raised in Ghana, the original homeland of Ananse (sometimes spelled Anansi or called Kwaku Ananse or Anancy). Many U.S. children are familiar with picture book versions of Anansi stories. Authors such as Verna Aardema, Eric Kimmel, and Gerald McDermott (who also illustrates), have retold these stories for a young readership; they are all cultural outsiders to West Africa. Illustrators of these titles include Lisa Desimini and Janet Stevens, who are also cultural outsiders. Read More
By Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
In the Amazon, people often laugh at their own belief in fantastic stories. But all the same, they believe the stories.
Taylor p. 55
As we continue our inquiry into folktales, we travel south to Brazil to investigate The Great Snake: Stories from the Amazon written by Sean Taylor and illustrated by Fernando Vilela. Sean Taylor, a Brit married to a Brazilian woman, lives part-time in her home country. Taylor frames the retellings of these stories as stops along his journey up the Amazon River. Read More
By Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University
Each year the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) selects and promotes a list of Outstanding International Books (OIB) for children and young adults. On the USBBY Web site, the annual list divided by instructional levels (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12), is available as a downloadable bookmark. Educators can also find a Google map showing the setting of each book or the place of its publication.
by Carmen M. Martínez-Roldán, Columbia University
It has been inspiring to learn about different ways of engaging teacher candidates with literature. In this last blog, I want to share some examples from my own teaching experience. Engaging teacher candidates and in-service teachers with literature is one of my favorite things as a teacher educator. As other instructors, I use different strategies to discuss the literature.
by Carmen M. Martínez-Roldán, Columbia University
This week we continue with the focus on the use of international children’s and adolescent literature in classrooms. Today I share an interview with Prof. Deanna Day from Washington State University at Vancouver, who shares how she incorporates international literature in her reading class. In her responses, she focuses on books on immigration.
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