School starts and "booktalks"

We're abuzz with school starting preparation. So when does school start for us? Tomorrow for Linda at Teachers College, Wednesday for me at Queens, next week for David at Ramapo and Sue at New York University and Sophie, in first grade at a NYC public school, The Anderson School. Dot, my long-time friend and a captivating presence on my blog and in my book Rosie the Riveter, started last week. She's a middle school librarian and here's her report:
Hi Penny,
We started last week. It was one BUSY week! Everything seemed to go well. The 6th graders seemed confused, but no one was crying.
On the second day of classes, the reading teachers brought their students to the library for 20 minutes to select books. They never want to give up much time for this, so I can’t really do indepth booktalks. I had two carts selected; one for 7/8 grades and one for 6th grade. I gave 30 second book talks for about ten books to each group and really whipped through them fast. Almost every book I “talked” went out! I’m hoping teachers get the value of doing that, rather than letting the kids just float around the library.
I enthusiastically second Dot's comments re the power of "booktalks," a terrific technique for anyone--parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, teachers, librarians and strangers--who want to share their passion for reading. Yes, strangers; several years ago a stranger--a woman whose appearance initially made me think she might be homeless--who was standing next to me in the mystery section of an independent bookstore turned to me and said,
"Do you want to read a wonderful book?"
"Sure."
With that she headed off to another section with me in tow, plucked a nonfiction book, Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time, off the shelf, and handed it to me. Intrigued I bought it, read it, and loved it.
p.s. you can also do "articletalks."

Road trip

We--Sophie, Linda & I--are off on a short road trip to the Mystic, Ct. & Newport, RI! Last fling before classes start for me & Linda next week. Sophie's start the following week. We'll see the beluga whales in Mystic, tour Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont's mansion in Newport where she held lavish fundraisers for suffrage, etc . On Wednesday, August 26th, we'll celebrate Women's Equality Day--the anniversary of women finally winning the right to vote (the resistance to woman suffrage is a mind-boggling story). You can download a brochure about Women's Equality Day at http://www.nwhp.org/.

Sophie

Sophie's home! We've had two fun-filled days catching up, including checking out familiar places, e.g., the pond at Flat Rock Brook Nature Center, which, as you can see is covered with duckweed! Sophie spied a frog & pulled out a pocket magnifying glass; her Daddy gave it to her, she said. (The one beaded braid is what remains from the many beaded braids she and her cousins got during their time at Mallorca.)

Sarah Jones

Here's a link to my daughter-in-law Sarah Jones' fabulous performance, "Sarah Jones As a One Woman Global Village," at the 2009 TED conference. Those of you who saw Sarah in "Bridge and Tunnel, her Tony-award-winning one-woman Broadway show, will be delighted to see some of her characters again. Those of you who go to Queens College--listen for her character who "teaches" at Queens College. All of you, I'm sure, will love Sarah and her characters.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sarah_jones_as_a_one_woman_global_village.html

Wonderful Writing and Stone Creek Woman

It's been tooo0 hot to do much more than dust and in the process refamiliarize myself with my books which are stacked everywhere. (Even now at 9 pm sweat is dripping down my face as I write in my un-air conditioned basement!) Anyhow, today I uncovered a beautifully done book--Women in the Wilderness: Writings and Photographs, selected and edited by Susan & Ann Zwinger. On p. 92, there's a gorgeous photo of a slot canyon followed by an excerpt from Unspoken Hunger by Terry Tempest Williams, a wonderfully descriptive & evocative nonfiction writer. The piece begins with: "Few know her, but she is always there--Stone Creek Woman--watching over the Colorado River. Over the years, I have made pilgrimages to her, descending into the Grand Canyon. . . .It is always a pleasant journey downriver to Mile 132--Stone Creek, a small tributary that flows into the Colorado."
With the thrill of recognition & connection, I exclaimed, "I know that place. I've been there!" Jumping up, I retrieved a copy of my account, Grand Canyon Magic, of my long ago paddle-raft trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. On p. 28, I read this:
Day Nine, I woke up feeling more rested this morning, maybe it's because I dreamt that I was being towed down the river in my tent.
We spent the morning hiking Stone Creek Canyon. The trail wandered back and forth across the creek, over red rock and multi-colored boulders, through lush vegetation to about a thirty-foot waterfall, surrounded by a profusion of greenery.

Williams describes Stone Creek Woman as emerging "from behind a veil of water. . . with her redrock face, her maidenhair ferns, and waterfall of expression." All those many years ago, did I see Stone Creek Woman? Not according to my written record, but I do now through the connection via William's vivid writing.

Scrabble

Last night--we play Scrabble every night--I "wrote" BLOVIATE--for 101 points (we don't keep score but I couldn't resist adding up the points because the "b" was on the triple word square!)
"Do you know that word from speaking or reading?" Linda asked.
"Reading," I replied.

Dot's summer reading

Readers of my book, Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II, "know" Dot Chastney; they've seen her grade school picture and read about her experiences growing up during World War II. Shortly after I interviewed her for Rosie, Dot moved to Florida where she is a middle school librarian, a continuation of her long career as an awesome & inspiring librarian. We have great e-mail conversations about books, reading, schools, kids, etc. (you'll find Dot in other posts & comments). Recently she sent me the list of books she read this summer. When I asked her if I could post it she replied:
Sure! You can also add that by far and away my favorite of the past six months is HUNGER GAMES, Book One by Suzanne Collins. It is also futuristic, and I prefer historical fiction or non-fiction. However, this kept me flipping the pages until I finished it. Book two is coming out in September and I can’t wait to get it. Our lower school 5th graders are reading it and I would say it would appeal to any age, right through high school.
Here are the books Dot read & her comments:
Hi, Penny,
Here’s a list of the books I read this summer:
SHIFT by Jennifer Bradbury, my favorite. Two boys bicycle across the country after high school graduation. One disappears near the end of the ride.
THINGS THAT ARE by Andrew Clements. This kept me reading, although I thought it was somewhat implausible. A blind girl has a boyfriend who has the ability to fade. She learns that a man who also has the ability to fade is stalking her boyfriend. The FBI contacts her because they are hunting for this man. It seems they fear someone with this ability could use it to threaten the safety of the country.
THE SKY INSIDE by Clare B. Dunkle. I had to force myself to keep going with this one--a futuristic, perfectly ordered society where children are genetically engineered. When the young children are taken away, a boy who loses his little sister begins to question why they were taken and sets out to search for them.
THE GIRL WHO COULD FLY by Victoria Forester. Also had to force myself, although the character development here was somewhat interesting. As the story moved along, some of the characters turned out to be different than they first appeared. It’s another story of a child with a unique ability who is taken away and placed in an underground school where she will be brainwashed and forget about her ability to fly. As she realizes what is happening to her and the other kids, they begin to plot an escape.
WHISPERS FROM THE BAY by John Tkac. (He is a local author; lives in Delray Beach.) A young boy living in Florida has a unique connection to dolphins. He actually talks to them and they carry on whole conversations with him. It’s the first book in a planned trilogy. When a friend and neighbor is kidnapped, he enlists the help of the dolphins to find and free the girl. Honestly, there is no way I can picture a kid having a conversation with dolphins who say, “Hey, Mike, you should fish around here. There are big sailfish in these waters.”
That old saying, “Truth is stranger and a thousand times more thrilling than fiction” seems more TRUE than ever. My next read definitely will be non-fiction. (I added the boldface!)
Dot Emer,
Middle School Librarian
Schmitt Library
Saint Andrew's School
Boca Raton, FL 33434

The summer months when Sophie visits her mother's family in Europe, I write and send her & her cousins short nonfiction stories about various events; most recently I sent one, illustrated with photos, about the powwow (see previous posts with video). Moments ago I finished one (writing short pieces is time consuming; every word counts!) titled "Uncle David and Aunt Crystal and the Dresser." The gist is: David and Crystal moved a tall, heavy dresser (it's behind them in the car) from the third floor of our house to their apartment, only to discover that it made their bedroom toooo crowded. My stories always end with a "What do you think. . ." In this case: " What do you think is going to happen to the dresser now?" I illustrated the story with photos, including this one of David and Crystal saying "Hi, Sophie!"
(When they're not moving dressers, David is a history professor, Crystal is finishing her dissertation.) click on pic for lager image.

August

This August instead of relocating to our bungalow on the barrier island off the coast of NJ, we're going back and forth in order to keep up with our work projects, i.e.,Linda's starting new research projects, etc.; I'm starting a new book & finishing the picture research for my forthcoming book Stirring Up the World: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, a Biography of a Powerful Friendship, etc. Happily we're both mostly engaged, even love, much of what we do work-wise because it's tempting to stay at the Shore when, for example, yesterday the ocean water temperature 74 degrees!! the waves rollicking. Kayaking on Barnegat Bay we saw many Great Egrets, a Little Blue Heron and Osprey (see picture).