Valarie Budayr's Blog, page 90

An Interview with Nine-Year Old Super Reader Faith Jackson

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Every so often, my attention is drawn to young readers and writers doing amazing things. That is exactly the case with 9 year-old Faith Jackson. Faith is an avid reader…well…MORE than an avid reader! So far young Faith has finished over 700 books since July 1st 2013!! Amazing!

Let’s get to know Faith with a little “Q&A.” Welcome Faith!

Photo source

 

Share with us a little bit about your background (where you are from, what grade you are in, hobbies, family, pets etc.)

I live in England, with my mum, dad, sister and 2 brothers,in a small village that has just one shop, one church and one pub. I know nearly everyone who lives here, and they know me! I am 9, and in year 5 of primary school, which means I have 1 year left before high school! When I’m not reading – which isn’t often – I do gymnastics, netball, karate and learn to play the drums.

 

Tell us a little about your reading journey. What inspired you to read, why you like it so much, and how many books you have read so far?

Mummy reading to me made me want to read but, I found it really hard until I was about 7. Reading is fun, it’s hard to explain why I like it so much, I love escaping into other worlds. We are counting to see how many books I read in 1 year. There are still 6 weeks to go but, I have already finished over 700 books since July 1st 2013.

 

As an avid reader, who would you consider your mentor?  

My mum, because she helps me and doesn’t force me to read, and because she reads a lot too. I have lots of books that were hers when she was a little girl.

 

How do you go about selecting your next book to read?

If I’m reading a series, I just go onto the next one. Or I might look for another book by one of my favourite authors. I go to the library, and to charity shops,  and to bookshops, just see what looks good!

 

Are there any young authors you admire?

I have read The Adventures Of Tomato And Pea by Erik Weibel who is only 14 and Firefall, The School For Dragons by Sophie Quay-Clark who was only 7 when she wrote it, I’m so impressed to know that such young people have become authors.

 

Who’s your favorite adult author?

I can’t choose just one, its just TOO hard but, I absolutely love Cressida Cowell, Enid Blyton, Holly Webb and Jacqueline Wilson

 

What do you like to do when you’re not reading?

I do lots of activities and, I like playing with my friends, looking after babies and animals, and watching TV.

 

Do you see yourself writing a book someday?

I don’t know because I think I have a good imagination, and love telling myself stories in my head but, I don’t much like writing them down.

 

Tell us about your family and what they think of your amazing reading aspirations.

I think my 2 little brothers just like that I read to them, my mum and dad are really proud, my sister is impressed but sometimes gets annoyed when I read instead of playing with her and, I don’t think my cats care very much.

 

Do you have any suggestions for other kids who don’t like reading that much?

Get your parents to read to you and, whatever your favourite thing is – rockets, fairies, sports whatever, find books about that! Don’t MAKE yourself read, it’s FUN, find things that YOU think ate fun to read about!

 

What do you think makes a good story?  

I like books with magic, or adventures, or animals in them but actually there aren’t many books I won’t read.

 

What are your goals (reading or otherwise) in the next year?  Until I find out my total, for reading in one year, I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll try to beat that total!

 

What would you like Jump Into a Book readers to know about you?

I don’t just read, I have a really busy life but, because I think reading is so much fun, I always make time for it.

 

You can connect with Faith on Twitter {@272BookFaith}

To learn more about Faith, click HERE, HERE, and HERE to read newspaper articles about her.

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Stand Tall, but Read All Around! Book Review and Activity {by Shannon Medisky}

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Can you believe school DONE?!!? Ack! Now everyone is kicking into “summer reading gear” and Jump Into a Book is no different. This year I decided to “mix it up” a bit and invite some of the many amazing bloggers and reading/play advocates that I know to stop by and share their knowledge and creativity with the JIAB readers.

PLUS it will offer kids and parents some cool new reading ideas and activities for summer.

Summer reading programs are abundant after school ends. It’s our goal to not only create an ongoing summer reading booklist with activities option for parents, but also work to keep the focus on helping our young readers be Global Citizens. We would like to focus on books that will help our kiddos explore their world and keep our initiative of multicultural books for kids in the forefront of people’s minds too. To achieve this, I created the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza.

This fun summer reading and activity event will run from June 1 to Sept 1 and we encourage your to keep stopping by Jump Into a Book during this time to view all of the booklists, book reviews, crafts, recipes and activities my guest bloggers will be sharing!

Here is our first guest for the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza, Shannon Medisky from SCIKite.com

Stand Tall, but Read All Around! Book Review and Activity by Shannon Medisky

I’ve got two little boys reading at drastically different levels. So finding books that we can all enjoy together can admittedly be a little difficult. Fortunately, though, I’ve found one particular book that fit that bill nicely, and I came up with a fun, creative way to help us all enjoy the book both together and individually, too.

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell and illustrated by David Catrow is a picture book that’s wonderfully easy to read aloud and beautifully unpredictable. Little Molly Lou is just that—little—and she gets bullied and picked on in many different ways because of it. But little Molly Lou surprisingly finds some pretty big ways to transform all her differences into advantages.

Lovell is an author and a teacher, and admitted in an interview that Molly Lou is “a spunky, self-possessed little girl who she admires.” And while “self-possessed” may initially sound like a bad thing, I’ve discovered it’s exactly the right thing to teach my kids about how to be good global citizens.

Wait! Don’t stop reading yet, but go ahead and readjust yourself and get comfortable because what I’m about to share might go against the grain a little bit. It admittedly might rub you the wrong way. After all, isn’t self-centeredness the exact opposite of what we should be teaching our kids to be? I disagree. Here’s why.

As I shared earlier, I have 2 sons. My biological son is 9 years old and typically developing. He meets and exceeds all his developmental and academic benchmarks at school. He towers over his peers and is nearly as tall as his dad already. My youngest son is nearly 8 years old. He’s also adopted and of a different ethnicity than everyone else in our family. He also happens to have many special needs, an intellectual disability, speech and communication issues and he’s legally blind to boot. And as if that weren’t enough, Mark’s also a little person, making finding his school uniform clothing in sizes 18month and 2T significantly challenging!

I share all of this because both my boys have struggled with bullying. My older son because he is so much bigger than everyone else, and my younger son because he is so much smaller and has so many special needs. Both my sons struggle with the same problem but in very different ways. Ironically enough, though, I’ve found that the best way to help both of them is encourage them to look inside themselves for their self-worth, discover and create their own strengths not in spite of their differences but because of them—just like little Molly Lou does in this book!

We enjoyed this book together as a read aloud first, making it a fast favorite. The story is anything but predictable due to Molly Lou’s creativity and David Catrow’s charmingly messy illustrations bring her character to life in believable ways. But perhaps what made this book the most fun was the activity I came up with after we shared the book together.

Because Nate can now read independently, I admittedly steer him towards chapter books and more challenging nonfiction. But just as it’s a mental break, a reprieve, for many adults to pick up and read a magazine, so can returning to a less-challenging picture book manuscript help older, independent readers reignite a love for reading. So, as you can imagine, Nate invited this opportunity wide-eyed and whole-heartedly. Mark, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to get his hands on the book and “read” it independently by revisiting the pictures all by himself.

I wanted to come up with an activity that supported what Molly Lou was and what echoed what both my boys are, too. I wanted the boys to experience reading in all the different rooms of the house. I wanted them to experience concretely and personally how even different surroundings can profoundly affect one experience. They shared the book together, laying on their tummies in the dining room as the summer sun spilled across the pages. Nate read it aloud to Mark as they sat criss-cross applesauce on the cold, tile floor of the laundry room. But, by far and away, hands down, the most popular room in the house was reading in the bathroom, while lying inside a cool but dry bathtub! With that in mind, I’m attaching a  free (optional) printout/downloadable resource for parents to use with this activity idea! Click HERE to download your own copy.

Maybe little Molly Lou has it exactly right after all. Maybe encouraging kids to be a little more “self-possessed” can help them better withstands the bullying that will unfortunately, but likely always come their way. But at the same time, doing so can help build self-confident, tolerant, more respectful global citizens, too.

 

Shannon Medisky is on a mission to inspire innovative thought in kids while simultaneously igniting a passion for science. In short, Shannon seeks to make science go BOOM! So children’s futures can take off, too.

A former classroom teacher and current writer, Shannon presents science concepts in fun, easy-to-understand ways, helping kids to understand that science isn’t just a “what” but “how” also. Additionally, she challenges kids to think critically, creatively and differently, encouraging an entrepreneurial approach to learning and failure along the way. The result is true education reform one child at a time, empowering kids to affect positive change in their own lives now while simultaneously equipping them for what lies ahead.

Her articles have been featured in many prominent magazines such as Exceptional Parents, Adoptive Families, Hybrid Mom, Mothering and Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family.

To learn more about Shannon, visit ShannonMedisky.com or connect with her on Facebook.

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Celebrate Best Friend Day with Little Passports!

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Did you know that there is a day to celebrate best friends? Well, there is and we are excited to announce a fun promotion kicking off this week to honor National Best Friends Day on June 8! Now is a perfect time to refer your friends and share the many benefits of Little Passports.

Celebrate Best Friends with Little Passports

What would we do without them? There is nothing like our best friends! In fact, the success of Little Passports was founded on just that…a friendship. Check out the photo of co-founders, Amy and Stella below. Speaking of friends, now is great time to get your little ones and their friends involved this summer. With school coming to an end, keep the kids and their friends busy with the fun and educational activities included in the Little Passports subscription (they won’t even know they are learning)! Get inspired with a Little Passports USA Edition: 3 or 6 months at $13.95/month subscription today and you and your family will begin a journey of learning and excitement all summer long.

 

Want to learn more about Little Passorts? Click the image below and discover Little Passports travel for your family!

 

Some of these links are affiliate links.
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Always Emily by Michaela MacColl {Guest Post by Hannah Rials}

Send to KindleEver heard of the Bronte sisters? Every wonder why their novels are the way they are? Well, Always Emily by Michaela MacColl takes an exciting look into the young lives of Charlotte and Emily Bronte.



When the last of their older sisters dies when Charlotte is ten and Emily eight, the immediate duties of eldest sibling drop onto the frail shoulders of poor Charlotte.

Fast forward ten years. Charlotte, realizing that her father will not be around forever, finds a teaching job at her old school and brings young, rambunctious Emily along to be a student. Not a good plan. Emily has a restless spirit that fights when contained indoor. She is very adamant against attending the school, but Charlotte has struggles of her own to deal with. Stuck in a position where creativity is frowned upon and propriety reigns, Charlotte has no time to secretly write her romance stories, a discouraging environment for an aspiring writer.
When Emily becomes deathly ill, she must be sent home–exactly what she wanted in the first place, just not with the method she planned. Once home, she recovers fully and enjoys her time free of her bossy, controlling older sister…for now. Charlotte, however, is soon sent home when the headmistress discovers her sacrilegious stories.

On her journey home, a raving woman stops her carriage, pleading with Charlotte to help her escape. Before Charlotte can glean any information from her, a man appears on horseback, apparently the Bronte’s neighbor, and takes the woman away.
Unfortunately, things only become stranger when she arrives home. Her brother Branwell is acting oddly, drinking heavily, and all-together avoiding his family. Their home has been broken into several times without cause, leading their father to carry a loaded pistol. Is it because their father the liberal preacher is condemning the way the mill owners are treating their workers? Or is it some other mysterious reason?
Then on one of Emily’s late night strolls, she discovers a hut not too far from her neighbor’s land. She comes to meet the young man living there–her neighbor’s nephew who ran away several years ago. Now he’s back to save his mother from his cruel uncle, but he needs the help of daring Emily and practical Charlotte.

Will they be able to save his mother? How is Branwell involved? And why is someone breaking into their home? Join Charlotte and Emily on the adventure of their lives that influence their future novels. Get your copy of Always Emily HERE.

A Note from Hannah

Let me just start off by saying this: I finished this book in ten hours. I LOVED it! This book provides insight into the lives of two celebrated authors. It is fast-paced and exciting–i literally could not put it down. Personally, I wish it would have been longer, but MacColl does an amazing job of developing Charlotte and Emily’s characters. There’s nothing more to say other than…impressive!

 

Born in the hills of Louisiana and raised in the mountains of Tennessee, Hannah Rials is a seventeen year old aspiring author and editor. She’s been writing short stories since she was a little girl, but for the past several years, she has been writing, editing, and re-editing a novel of her own that she hopes to publish in the near future. Visit Hannah’s blog HERE.

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Be a Dream Collector with the Big Friendly Giant

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Sophie later learned that the BFG ( Big Friendly Giant) was a dream collector.

She took him with her in the pale country where you can hear dreams sailing along.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“We is in Dream Country.” the BFG said. “This is where all dreams is beginning.”

Eons ago, when our kids where still little, it was not a rare occurrence for many of us to hear the sounds of little feet running down the hallway into our bedrooms, only to be greeted with a frightened voice saying, “ I had a bad dream.”

Let us not forget the “midnight holler” either.  “MOM, Mom, I had a bad dream!” Remembering back to those precious days and nights, it was always my big feet are running down the hallway in the dark.

Many years ago I read Roald Dahl’s book The BFG to my children.

When orphan Sophie is snatched from her bed by a Giant, she fears that he’s going to eat her. But although he carries her far away to Giant Country, the Giant has no intention of harming her. As he explains, in his unique way of talking, “I is the only nice and jumbly Giant in Giant Country! I is THE BIG FRIENDLY GIANT! I is the BFG.” The BFG tells Sophie how he mixes up dreams to blow through a trumpet into the rooms of sleeping children. But soon, all the BFG’s powers are put to the test as he and Sophie battle to stop the other Giants from tucking into the children of the world. The RAF and even the Queen become involved in the mission.   [from roalddahl.com]

Wouldn’t all of us wish for a giant who blows good dreams upon sleeping little children from his dream jar? Why couldn’t we wish for something so splendid? We might be short on BFG’s but I was sure that I could whip up something wonderful in the way of a dream jar.

Something To Do

Every night one or two dream wishes are written on a slip of paper and placed into the jar. At the end of the year we take all of our dream slips and place them in a clear jar with the year clearly marked on it. Placed on a shelf in the bookcase, our jar becomes a testament to great sleep and wonderful dream collecting.

Dream Jars

Materials

1 quart mason or canning jar with lid
1 sheet of tissue paper any color
Mod Podge or other decoupage medium
Sponge brush
Assorted stickers and lettering
Paper cut into strips

Instructions

Rip the sheet of tissue paper into medium-sized pieces.

Wrinkle all of the pieces of tissue paper after you’ve ripped them into the desired sizes.

With your sponge brush, brush one small section of the jar from the top to the bottom. Place tissue paper over the glued section.

Brush decoupage glue over the tissue paper.

Move on to the next section of the jar and repeat until the jar is completely finished. Let dry completely.

Once the jar is dry, place the letter stickers on one side of the jar to spell the word “dream.” On the back side of your jar put an assortment of stickers that make you happy.

Our children have such fond memories of making their dream jars. A few I’ve seen go off to college as “nostalgia” and others are still in active use. Our eldest daughter uses her dream jar to place her affirmations and life-list items. On the lid of her jar she has written, “To be read daily.”

For some of the children in this house “bad dreams” are a thing of the past but many a rainy afternoon sees them reading their collected dreams of years gone by.

If there’s anything I’ve learned it’s that we don’t need a big friendly giant to send us our good dreams. We can all become collectors of great dreams. Just be sure to share them wildly.

Here’s wishing you many happy and wonderful dreams!

Cut small strips of paper to leave beside your jar with a pen or pencil for nightly dream wishes.

:::::::::::::

Parts of this article were previously published on Rhythm of the Home.

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The Adventures of Achilles by Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden {Guest Post by Hannah Rials}

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The Adventures pf Achilles is another wonderful book from the Barefoot Books line-up.  The Adventures of Achilles tells the mythical story behind this amazing warrior’s history and of the fall of the great walled city of Troy. The story is told beautifully, but I do not recommend this for young children. Some battle parts might be a little hard to read for children under the age of ten. However, this is a great book—your child will be extremely prepared for high school English. Carole Henaff’s illustrations are beautiful and truly represent the Greek culture.



Long long ago lived the immortal, all-powerful Greek gods and goddesses.

One day, the king of all the Gods, Zeus, fell in love with a water nymph named Thetis. However, he heard a prophecy that her son would one day become greater than his father. Of course, that would never do for the King of the skies. So he decided to find a mortal husband for her—Peleus, the great warrior king. Peleus instantly fell in love with her beauty, and Zeus led him to her beach. When she arrived, riding a dolphin like a horse, he proposed, but she only consented to marriage if he could catch her. After many days of trying, he succeeded and, they were married immediately.


Thetis soon bore a son destined for greatness, but also destined for a short life. She took Achilles as a boy and dipped his body in the river Styx so that he would be immortal—all except for his heel, where she held him. Achilles grew into a powerful, feared warrior who commanded greatness and would one day be needed for a great war.

Years later, Paris, a prince of Troy with a face like a god, was walking when Zeus saw him. Many years ago, the goddess Eris had thrown an apple of discord to choose who—Hera, Athena, or Aphrodite—was the most beautiful goddess. They were still arguing about it. Hermes brought the apple to Paris and gave him his mission. Only after much consideration and after the goddess of love offered him the most beautiful woman in the world, did he choose Aphrodite. Soon after Paris was sent to the Greek palace of Menelaus, where in the night, he and Helen, Menelaus’s wife, snuck away. Infuriated by this betrayal, Agamemnon went to his brother, Agamemnon—high king of the Greeks—and convinced him to rally an army against the Trojans. The young king Odysseus was sent to find Achilles since Agamemnon was told that he would not win the war without him.

For years the Greeks and Trojans fought, and whenever they saw Achilles fought, Trojans were struck with fear. But the Trojans still had Prince Hector, their equivalent to Achilles. Soon both sides grew weary of the war, and the Trojans formulated the plan to stay inside their fortified, strong city walls and just wait until the Greeks gave up. This went on for many years, and Achilles was sent away to destroy allies of Troy. When he returned, he offered Agamemnon spoils, including a daughter of a priest from the temple of Apollo. Achilles kept a slave girl for himself. However, Apollo was not happy with this, so he sent a colony of infested rats into the Greek camp, which infected dogs, horses, and then men. To get rid of the plague, Agamemnon was forced to release the priestess, and in exchange, he took Achilles’ slave girl. This infuriated the warrior, and from that moment on, he vowed not to fight in the war.



Inspired by Zeus months later, Hector lept from bed and led his army against the Greeks, and at this time, they gained a victory. However, Patroclus, Achilles’ closest friend, took Achilles’ armor to strike fear in Trojan hearts, but he was doomed to die. When he went up against Hector, he was dead in a matter of minutes. Achilles’ swore to avenge Patroclus’s death by killing Hector. He leapt onto his chariot, chased Hector to the walls of Troy, and killed him, with the help of Athena.

After Patroclus’s body was burned on a funeral pyre, late that night, King Prium of Troy and his youngest daughter drove through the Greek camp to retrieve his son’s body. Achilles’ took pity on the old king, who reminded him of his own father who he would never see again. He allowed them to take Hector’s body and promised that he would hold off the Greek army while they grieved. While this was taking place, Achilles was falling in love with Prium’s daughter.

Once Hector’s funeral was over, the fighting resumed. During the day Achilles would fight. At night, he would meet Prium’s daughter. One night, Apollo whispered in Paris’s ear about his sister’s relationship and to follow her with a bow and arrow. When Paris followed them, Achilles revealed that his only vulnerable spot is his heel. At that moment, Paris loosed his arrow and Apollo stabbed it into Achilles heel. He died immediately.

With their best warrior dead, Odysseus decided to build a great wooden horse where Greeks hid and burned the Greek camp. The trojans brought the horse into their city, and after they had all gone to bed, the Greek soldiers climbed out of the camp and burned the city of Troy to the ground.


Another Barefoot Books beautiful stories! The Adventures of Achilles tells the mythical story behind this amazing warrior’s history and of the fall of the great walled city of Troy. The story is told beautifully, but I do not recommend this for young children. Some battle parts might be a little hard to read for children under the age of ten. However, this is a great book—your child will be extremely prepared for high school English. Carole Henaff’s illustrations are beautiful and truly represent the Greek culture.

Something To Do

 Trojan Horse Coloring Page:
{Scroll to bottom of page or click image.}



Eris’s Golden Apple of Discord:

 

Make Hades’ Urn of Fates:
1. Acquire a plain white ceramic mug from dollar tree or another dollar store.
2. Collect colorful sharpies, or you may just want to use black.
3. According to how you imagine The Three Fates, draw them with the sharpies onto your mug.
“The first, who spins out the thread of a life.
The second, who measures out its length.
And the third, who cuts the thread and ends the life.”
4. Preheat your oven to 350 and let the mugs bake for 20 minutes—this helps the ink to     set. Let cool completely.
*These are not dishwasher safe.

Born in the hills of Louisiana and raised in the mountains of Tennessee, Hannah Rials is a eighteen year-old aspiring author and editor. She’s been writing short stories since she was a little girl, but for the past several years, she has been writing, editing, and reediting a novel of her own that she hopes to publish in the near future.  Hannah has always loved reading and the world of books. With a librarian grandmother who can tell the most magical stories, how could she not fall in love with the written word. Her library collection and love for books grows every day.
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Wisdom Tales Press Wins 12 Midwest Book Awards!

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Cheers to our friends at Wisdom Tales Press! Editor President of Wisdom Tales Press, Mary-Kathryne Steele shared with us that Wisdom Tales recently  won 12 medals, including 4 gold medals, at the MIPA (Midwest Independent Publishers Assoc) awards ceremony in St Paul, MN. Congratulations to all!
MIDWEST BOOK AWARDS MEDAL WINNERS

 Children’s Fiction

Custer’s Last Battle by Paul Goble SILVER MEDAL

What an amazing and well-written book! Read my review with accompanying activities HERE.

 

Children’s Non-Fiction

Children of the Tipi edited by Michael Oren Fitzgerald SILVER MEDAL

Read my review of Children of the Tipi:

Michael Oren Fitzgerald in his new release Children of the Tipi, Life in the Buffalo Days assembles a collection of Plains Indian proverbs and photographs to answer the question, what was it like for children to grow up in the world of the pre-reservation Plains Indians during the Buffalo Days? Read more HERE.

Check out my fun CornHusk Doll Activity inspired by the books as well.

Children’s Picture Books

Angels by Alexis York-Lumbard, illustrated by Flavia Weedn GOLD MEDAL

Read my book review of Angels:

Alexis has done something very special in her book “Angels” by showing us that the “angelic realms” are most empowering through their interactions here on earth. Alexis shows us the gentle wonder, beauty, and comfort in her lyrical text. Flavia’s illustrations are done in delicate, overflowing water colors, inviting every reader into a magical place with caring and kindness. Read more HERE.

The Otter, the Spotted Frog and the Great Flood by Gerald Hausman, illustrated by Ramon Shiloh SILVER MEDAL

Read my review of this wonderful story over at The Library Adventure!

Over the years my family has enjoyed reading a variety of “great flood” tales from our local Blount County Library. This month found us enjoying the Creek Indian version called, The Otter, the Spotted Frog and the Great Flood by Gerald Hausman and beautifully illustrated by Ramon Shiloh. Read more here.

 

History

The Compassionate Warrior by Elsa Marston, foreword by Barbara Petzen SILVER MEDAL

Read my review of The Compassionate Warrior :

Elsa has written prolifically about the Middle East and has published several titles for children. I asked Elsa to stop by today to share her latest release with us The Compassionate Warrior: Abd el-Kader of Algeria (Wisdom Tales Press 2013). This poignant biography for teens shares Abd el Kader’s efforts to prevent the French colonization of Algeria but what he is truly known for his deep respect and acceptance for friend and foe alike and an in-depth interest in people of all political and religious backgrounds. I can share with you that my own teen couldn’t put this book down and felt greatly inspired by the ideas of Abd el-Kader and his ways of building harmony and peace between people, ideas, and political agendas. Read more HERE.

 

Illustration: Graphic

The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna by Demi SILVER MEDAL

Read my review of The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna:

In this elegant read, we ventured into the world and land of India, the God Krishna, and Hinduism in the book The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna by author/illustrator Demi. When a peaceful kingdom is overtaken by an evil demon, the gods send the child Krishna to the rescue. Hidden amongst the poor and peaceful cow herds, his amazing powers can’t stay hidden from the evil demon king for long. S oon he is under attack from giant birds, a whirlwind demon, and a snake eight miles long. The question is, will Krishna be able to defeat the evil demon king and save the people from his terrible reign? Read more HERE.

 

The Otter, the Spotted Frog and the Great Flood by Gerald Hausman, illustrated by Ramon Shiloh GOLD MEDAL

 

Interior Layout

Children of the Tipi by Michael Oren Fitzgerald GOLD MEDAL

  

Publisher’s Website

Wisdom Tales Press SILVER MEDAL

 

Total Book Design

Children of the Tipi by Michael Oren Fitzgerald SILVER MEDAL

The Otter, the Spotted Frog and the Great Flood by Gerald Hausman, illustrated by Ramon Shiloh SILVER MEDAL

 

Young Adult Non-Fiction

The Compassionate Warrior by Elsa Marston, foreword by Barbara Petzen GOLD MEDAL

 

Congrats to Wisdom Tales Press!
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Custer’s Last Battle by Paul Goble {A Wisdom Tale’s Book}

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Custer’s Last Battle by Paul Goble

 

In answer to the need for an “actual” account of the Battle of Little Big Horn for his son Richard, Paul Goble created a book which allows its readers to rediscover the retelling of the Battle of Little Big Horn from a Native American perspective.”Custer’s Last Battle” by acclaimed author/illustrator Paul Goble is this new edition of his first published book out by Wisdom Tales Press. This week “Custer’s Last Battle” was the winner of  the Silver Medal for Children’s Non-Fiction in the MIPA Awards Ceremony ( Midwest Independent Publisher’s Association). Gorgeously illustrated and fabulous story-telling.

This book is greatly deserving of this award as it is a simple but solid look into one of the more famous battles in U.S. history. Told from the view-point of a fictional a 15-year-old Lakota Warrior named Red Hawk, “Custer’s Last Battle” gives voice to those Native Americans who were so violently attacked that day and shares their perspective. The text is short and simple, but delivers the stories of brave men who fought and lost their life that day, of the women and children running and the fear they felt and at the same time the story-telling act of giving respect and honor to their aggressors. There is a quote from Chief Sitting Bull which says; “‘I will tell no lies about dead men. Those men who came with Long Hair were as good men as ever fought.”

The version of the story I had learned in school was that Custer was the “hero” of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. How much we’ve learned from Custer’s Last Battle. We’ve had the honor to spend more than the “required” time in our high school history courses to a learn a little more about this story.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the story it goes something like this :

“On the morning of June 25th, 1876, a force of 700 men from the 7th U.S. Cavalry led by General George Armstrong Custer attacked a Native American encampment on the banks of the Little Bighorn River. Unbeknownst to Custer, he faced the combined might of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, led by the greatest chiefs, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Advised by his Indian scouts not to attack, the foolhardy general ignored their warnings and trusted “Custer’s luck” one last time. The Native Americans won a huge victory, in fact it was the largest ever one by Native Americans. ”

 

The illustrations in this book are beautiful yet simple and complex holding many details. The colors are bright and bold and stand out from the text. Paul Goble designed the illustrations for this book in the Ledger Book style. Ledge book art is the name which was given to early Native American drawings. They utilized pens and colored pencils on trader ledger book paper. It was the only paper at the time available to Native American.

Another detail of this book that I really like so much is the forward written by Joe Medicine Crow. At the time of its writing, Mr. Crow was 98 years old and had met many survivors of Custer’s Last Battle. He points out that though there are 3000 written documents which speak of General Custer’s position and demise, none of them mention the survivors of that day. This lively tale, though fictionalized is taken from many first hand accounts of Native Americans fighting that day and from people who were watching from the bluffs in June 1976. Dr. Joe Medicine Crow validates that Paul Goble got the story correct and accurately as he states in his forward.

Although this book is aimed at a younger market, please be aware that this is a book talking about a historical battle. There are guns, and weapons, and there is death and dying but there is also honor, bravery, and courage. I was reading this book with older children and young adults aged 11-15. A child of a much younger age can easily read the text. Each one of us has to decide whether this book is right for their children based on subject matter.

Custer’s Last Stand encouraged and inspired us to look at history from a variety of perspectives. We learned so much from this little 44 page book. I highly recommend it and feel it gives an insightful look to the happenings of June 25th 1876. To get your copy of this amazing offering from Wisdom Tales Press, go HERE.

Somethings To Do:

1. I asked the my teenager and his friends to find another version of this story from the U.S. Cavalry’s point of view. We then had a discussion of how things differed.

2. Where is little Big Horn ? Find it here.

3. National Park

Little Bighorn National Monument

 

In the past, we have created authentic bows and arrows as a family. You can find that activity HERE.

Disclosure: I was given a review copy of this book by Wisdom Tales Press but the review and opinions in this review are expressly my own.

 

 

 

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Let’s Celebrate Children’s Book Week! {Linky Party}

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It’s Children’s Book Week!! — {May 12-18, 2014}

Children’s Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading.

Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, commemorative events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes — wherever young readers and books connect!

Children’s Book Week originated in the belief that children’s books and literacy are life-changers. In 1913, Franklin K. Matthiews, the librarian of the Boy Scouts of America, began touring the country to promote higher standards in children’s books. He proposed creating a Children’s Book Week, which would be supported by all interested groups: publishers, booksellers, and librarians.

The need for Children’s Book Week today is as essential as it was in 1919, and the task remains the realization of Frederic Melcher’s fundamental declaration: “A great nation is a reading nation.”

To read more about the history of this event that is celebrating is 95th Anniversary, go here.

Here’s something fun. Show your support by creating a CBW Twibbon! Create your own Twibbon here.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Weekend Links: Tons of Wonderful Children’s Reading Links!

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Oh my! What a fun Weekend Links this will be! I don’t know if it’s because Spring is in the air and the flowers are a bloomin’ here in TN, but this week has been chocked full of amazing information concerning summer reading, multicultural books and great reading lists for kids. So exciting!

As always, I’ve combed through the hundreds of amazing articles out there and brought you the best of the best (in my opinion). So grab a cup of coffee and settle in for some great kidlit-inspired reading ideas for kids!

 

The Multiracial Population Is Growing, But Kid Lit Isn’t Keeping Up: School Library Journal

2014 Books from Caldecott Winners: 100ScopeNotes

 

 

Middle Reader Summer Reading List from PrettyOpinionated

22 Awesome Submissions From The #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign

 

@KCEdventures 15 Amazing Vintage Summer Reads for Kids -Encourage Learning with Kids

From My Backyard Summer Reading List: Reading Rockets

 

Needs some summer reading ideas?  10 to Note: Summer Preview 2014 from 100 ScopeNotes

What great kid-reading inspired links did YOU find this week?

**Don’t Forget! Children’s Book Week starts May 12th!

 

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