National Endowment for Humanities Gullah Voices Experience

This summer I'm going to participate in a workshop sponsored by the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) in Savannah, Georgia. I'm excited to get to study about the people of this area, their dialect, culture, and music. As part of the workshop all of us have homework to read before we start our week together. 

I have printed all the selections that were emailed to me and this week I received these two books. I have started reading the one on the left-it is more narrative and I love a good story. I hope to use this blog as a place to record the process and what I learn.

The process actually started in February when I remembered to check out the NEH website and summer workshop offerings. I applied to two different workshops that were within driving distance. There is a bit of paperwork to the application process but it was not too much. Then I had to wait until April to find out if I was accepted. Participants can only attend one workshop per summer.

Finally in early April I found I was accepted to the Gullah Voices workshop. There is a stipend to help cover expenses like transportation and hotel. The organizers of this workshop chose a very nice hotel in Savannah as the headquarters for the week. Some people are going to share rooms to cut down on the expense. Being a person who likes a good bit of alone time, I chose not to have a roommate. This means my stipend won't go as far but I had planned to drive instead of fly. I'm using loyalty points to stay at hotels as I drive to and from the workshop.  

Now I have to get on that homework. I'll share my first impressions in a later post.

Middle Grade Spooky Books

Remember last summer I attended the International Literacy Association convention in St. Louis? Well, I have been slowly reading through the bag of free kids books I was given there. I recently finished these two spooky middle grade books. 

I read A Curious Tale of the In-Between first. I'm not a big fan of horror and this one started off a little creepy. But the story was interesting and different so I read on. The main character sees dead people or at least their ghosts. She can talk to them, too. She has been friends with a ghost boy for most of her life. When a strange woman finds out about her abilities, the girl is abducted. The story of her escape and the fate of her ghost friend were satisfying to read.

Next I read Took, a Ghost Story. It was even more creepy. Sometimes I had to put the book down it was so creepy. Again a girl is abducted by a strange woman. This time the girl's brother is her rescuer. I'm not sure what type readers would enjoy this book. It had a great ending but getting there was creeping me out. 

Do you recommend books to your students, co-workers, or friends? How do you decide what book fits a reader? These two books are more difficult to read than most of my students can attempt but I know someone out there likes spooky books, so I'm suggesting these to you. 

If you enjoy them, let me know.

Til next time,

Janice

Faux British Mysteries

I'm reading mysteries that aren't very scary-some have no dead bodies. The Aunt Dimity mysteries by Nancy Atherton are set in a village somewhere in the UK. The main character and her family are Americans living in England. But Lori is very nosy and gets caught up in other people's problems.
So much of these books remind me of the ones I just finished by Susan Wittig Albert.

 Here is a pic of this year's bunk bed flower bed. I ordered some seeds from Buchart Gardens. I know, our climate is so similar. Anyway, Martin and I planted these seeds on Saturday and they have already sprouted! Can't wait for little zinnias and cosmos to take over. Should be as colorful as a quilt.

That's all for now. Going to see some kids I know at a community theater drama.

A Woman of Literacy

This month is International Literacy Association's Women's History Month. Mississippi Reading Association President, Dr. LeAnn Carter, asked board members to write about Women of Literacy who have influenced our lives. 

The first person who came to mind was my mother, Helen Thornton. No, she is not a teacher. But she is the person who instilled my love of books. She read to my brothers and me from our earliest days. She took us to the public library once a week. We were there for Story-time as preschoolers and in the summer when we were school-age. 

I remember my mother reading books for her own enjoyment, too. The first book I remember discussing with her was Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I was in first grade and just beginning to read. The book she was reading was SO thick. It was the thickest book I had ever seen, even thicker than her Bible. I was curious about a story that kept her reading page after page. I asked her what the book was about and that was the beginning of our conversations about books. 

Mom will be ninety-one this week. She still loves to read. Her favorite books now are biographies. She still likes to talk about the books she is reading. She likes to share 'just a page' or 'just a paragraph' to other willing readers. 

Who is your Woman of Literacy? 

More Mysteries

Spring is here! Not by the calendar but certainly by the flowers.

I picked these at mom's. She has so many and she loves to share them.

This week has been our Spring Break. I went to the Canton library and checked out these mysteries. I am obsessed with this author. I have read all of the ones set in Texas and Alabama. Now I am reading through these set in the Lake District in the UK. Beatrix Potter is a main character. There are also talking animals (of course the people can't understand them). If you like mysteries but not the gory, violent kind, then these are just right for you.

Catching up on my recorded TV shows, too. Good thing I have lots of inside activities since it is raining steadily for the next few days.

A Wrinkle in Time Graphic Novel

I'm on a graphic novel kick with my older students at school. We read the graphic novel version of the first Percy Jackson novel. I was going to compare it to the movie and chapter book but the movie was just too different and combined a couple of the series into one movie.

I bought this graphic novel version of the classic A Wrinkle in Time. It is a very thick book. The original is quite complicated for English Learners to follow as a read aloud. I wasn't sure if they would like this version either.

Well, the first day I read this one of my newer boys commented when I finished the first chapter, "I like it!" This kid hardly ever likes anything. So I think this is a hit.

It is very close to the original version and the pictures make it easy to follow. This week end a local theater is presenting a live performance of the story. Some of the kids said they would go see the performance. Hope so.

What do you think of graphic novel versions of chapter books?

What I'm reading

Well, I finished all the China Bayles mysteries and found the Darling Dahlias mysteries by the same author. The book jacket describes the genre as 'cozy'. The mystery is not as scary but the plot is still interesting. These stories are set in a small town in south Alabama during the 1930's. It reminds me of stories my mom told about her childhood during the depression.

Most of the book is accurate but there are some parts that don't sound southern to me. Some of the plants (yes, plants are featured in these books) don't grow well in middle Mississippi and I'm doubtful they grow in south Alabama. Otherwise, I'm enjoying the time travel via these books.

What are you reading?

I'm looking forward to a new China Bayles in April. Stephanie Plum has a new adventure but the library's copies are all checked out. I have one more Darling Dahlias to read. Looking for suggestions.