local and national events that recognize the value of literacy to individuals, families, and communities. The International Reading Association (IRA) has a special page which talks about events in Washington DC, and includes a downloadable brochure, fact sheet and ideas.
Library Grants for Family Literacy
The National Center for Family Literacy has created a national award for libraries that will support and fund libraries’ family programming. “Libraries and literacy have such a natural connection, and we designed the award to help tighten that,” says Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), which co-launched the grant with online book site, Better World Books.
Thanks to School Library Journal and Reading Tub’s Literacy Roundup for the news and links.
Cookjoy & Bookjoy
Have you seen the movie “Julie & Julia”? If you like to cook and aren’t a vegetarian, you’ll probably thoroughly enjoy it. I did. I’d just finished Julia Child’s memoir, My Life in France, which moves along happily from meal to meal. It was my reward for sending off my new manuscript tentatively titled, Zing: 7 Creativity Practices for Educators & Their Students, to the editor at Corwin last week. Whew! A book of letters to teachers and librarians, it’s due out in the spring.
In the last letter I have a quote from Julia Child that I found some years ago about her zest for what she did. I found Julia Child an amazing story — a woman who didn’t know how to cook and who, by falling in love with France and French cooking and by her optimistic persistence, shared her cookjoy with America. She worked for years experiencing many set-backs, but she’d dust her ego off and continue. Paul, her supportive husband gets a gold star too. Julia Child is a high-spirited, cheerful and hard-working example for those of us excited about sharing bookjoy.
Share Bookjoy!
A poem for Summer Reading
Here’s the perfect poem by Pat to celebrate summer reading! Print and share this poem about Tomás!
Library Magic
“¡Vamos! Let’s go to the library!”
Tomás said to his family.
He showed them his favorite books
and his cozy reading nooks.
“¡Vamos! Let’s go to the library!”
Tomás said to his friends. “Hurry!”
They saw libros in stacks and rows.
They laughed at funny puppet shows.
“¡Vamos! Let’s all go to the library!”
Join the fun, a treasure house that’s free.
Bring your friends and family.
Stories, computers, maps and more,
facts, fun. Enter the magic door.
Like Tomás, open books and soar.
Be a reader. Explore galore.
© Pat Mora, 2005
Reprinted by permission.
All rights reserved.
In memory of the leader, educator and author, Tomás Rivera
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?