Book Gardens

Guest Post by Rashin Kheiriyeh

“Nestled in the branches of a tree,

Arlo opened his book and breathed in.

“Beginnings were always the best part.

They smelled as if anything were possible.”

I illustrated The Book Tree, written by Paul Czajak – a wonderful story about a boy who sits on the branches of a tree to read. When one of his books falls on the Mayor’s head, the Mayor decides to tear up every book in town – with disastrous consequences for teachers and their students, chefs and their restaurants, actors and their theatres and of course, libraries.

But then there was a miracle: “a sprout springing from where the page had been buried. It began to open its leaves. It reached for Arlo’s words, begging for more.” Pretty soon, Arlo was imagining and writing stories about giants and swans and fire-breathing beasts.

“People grew hungry for reading again. Some wrote their own stories and became book gardeners themselves.”

Even the Mayor finally shared the wonder of books.

My illustrations feature oil paint, ink and collages. I used natural materials to bring  depth and contrast to my drawings, like using real feathers, pieces of wood, fabrics and metals to make the collages more tangible.

People of the town have different skin tones with blue hair or mustaches. They look funny and whimsical.  The book tree itself is been printed with golden ink to give it a magical shine. The books that actually grow on the tree branches are in different languages.

The Book Tree can inspire student writing and even turn a whole school into book gardeners – limited only by your imagination.

Here are a few ideas to get started:

1 –  Have students draw a book tree full of their favorite books.

2 –  The teacher can draw a tree and each student draw or attach his/her favorite book to it.

3 – Draw the Mayor and Arlo as friends, reading a book together – or have students write a paragraph about what books the Mayor and Arlo enjoyed reading together. Perhaps they could even write a story together.

4 – Look at the illustrations in the book and find places where materials other than paint and paper have been used.  Make your own collage with lots of different materials.

The motto of publisher Barefoot Books is to “step inside a story.”  What stories would your students like to step inside?  The Book Tree celebrates the themes Barefoot Books seeks to highlight: “encourage independence of spirit, enthusiasm for learning and respect for the world’s diversity.”

 www.rashinart.com

INSPIRATION FROM NATURE

by Alison Ashley Formento

It’s been five years since my first picture book, This Tree Counts!, was published and I still hike past the old tree that inspired my story several times a week at my local nature center. I first wrote a short poem imagining what that tree would say if it could speak. As I share in my school visits, we know that bees communicate in their hives, and it’s possible that trees communicate, too, in ways that we, as humans, don’t yet understand.

Hiking through a forest, under a leafy canopy hearing birds overhead, is my quiet place, where I can breathe in fresh air and enjoy the incredible beauty of being alive in this world.

Write about your special place…

What place in nature makes you feel special? Is it next to a tree or on a beach at the ocean?

Take a class hike around your schoolyard. Take notes about what you see.

Write what seems special about the playground, the parking area, and the school building.

Now focus on all that is natural surrounding your school.

Is there a tree that is shorter or taller than the others?

Is there a quiet spot to sit outside your school?

Are there any rocks, streams, or ponds on your school property?

Do you see any animals or birds around your school?

What do you like the least and the most about the grounds surrounding your school?

Choose what means the most to you from your notes and write a short poem.

I imagined a tree speaking to me for This Tree Counts! What do you hear in your imagination about your school grounds? What counts most to you about what you see each day at school? Photographs and drawings are a nice addition to your words.

www.alisonashleyformento.com

WRITING POURQUOI STORIES

by Alexis York Lumbard

When I stumbled upon the fable Why Trees Lose Their Leaves in an old collection of Native American stories, I hadn’t yet developed an appreciation for the pourquoi form.  As many of you know, a pourquoi tale is a specific kind of fable, one that explains “why” or “how” something in the natural world came to be.

According to the old storytellers, the reason deciduous trees lose their leaves each winter is that long ago a poor sparrow injured his wing and couldn’t migrate with his family as winter approached.  Seeking shelter from the cold, sparrow hobbled from tree to tree begging for help.  Only Pine, who has the least to offer, shows compassion.  For this reason Pine alone remains green against the snow, evergreen evermore.  The bareness of trees, according to this pourquoi fable, reminds us how terribly empty selfishness can be.  Thanks to this pourquoi story, I now view the winter landscape in a fresh and thoughtful light.

Seeing with an eye of wonder is what children do best. Why does a chameleon change color? Why is the sky blue? Why do zebras have strips?  Ask a child such questions and you will see their bright eyes widen with possibility.  Many will whip up hilarious answers. The more fun something is, the more inclined children are to do it. This exercise will show them how fun creative writing can be. 

 Creative Writing with Pourquoi Stories—Five Easy Steps

1)    Define the Genre-Pourquoi stories are traditional stories that explain “how” or “why” something in nature came to be.

2)    Read Several Examples—There are many traditional African and Native American pourquoi stories.  Ashley Bryan has several, so too does Joseph Bruchac. 

3)    Review the Three-Act Structure—Pourquoi tales generally share a few common characteristics.  Firstly, they begin “a long time ago.” Secondly, someone misbehaves.  This someone is often an animal and their bad behavior causes problems for everyone.  Thirdly, a higher being or magic force steps in to solve the problem, punishing the naughty animal by changing forever their outer appearance.

4)    Animal Selection-Ask the children to chose an animal to write about. They may choose any animal that arouses their curiosity. 

5)    Pen Your Own Pourquoi--Ask your kids to use all the creative powers they can muster to come up with an imaginative explanation for why their animal looks they way it does.  Make sure they follow the 3 Act Structure.  Perhaps the will enjoy acting out or illustrating their new fables.  If there is time, they might enjoy comparing their explanation with a scientific one.

I hope this exercise gives everyone a good laugh!

 

Alexis York Lumbard grew up in Northern Virginia where she eventually received a B.A. in Religious Studies from George Washington University.  She currently lives in Natick, Massachusetts with her husband, three daughters, two hairless cats and a book-eating bunny rabbit.  She has five picture books with Wisdom Tales Press including, The Conference of the Birds, Angels, Everyone Prays: Celebrating Faith Around the World, Pine and the Winter Sparrow, and the upcoming, When the Animals Saved Earth.  For more about her work please see www.alexisyorklumbard.com

MAKE A SPLASH:OCEAN RESEARCH AND WRITING FUN

guest post by Alison Formento

When I write for magazines or newspapers I must fact check all information I include in an article or essay. I conduct interviews and research whatever topic I’m writing about and it’s no different when I write my nature picture books. My books are considered literary non-fiction. There are fictional elements in my stories in which the trees, bees, or seas talk, but every fact shared has been thoroughly researched and verified by scientists and experts, such as apiarists (beekeepers) for my book These Bees Count! and oceanographers for These Seas Count!

My new picture book These Seas Count! was an exciting book to research since our world’s oceans and seas are fascinating and a vital part of keeping our Earth healthy. Scientists have guessed that there are perhaps a million yet-to-be discovered marine life forms. A million! We know so many amazing sea facts such as there are phytoplankton too small to see which help make our air breathable and there are whales the length of several school buses who can communicate in their own language, but imagine what else we don't know yet about marine life. Our oceans and seas are a place of mystery and wonder and we must care for them as we would a garden in our own backyard.

In my research, I discovered underwater coral called Sea Fan and used that as the name for the boat in These Seas Count! Here’s a way students can use research to make a splash in their own writing.

1. Students draw an ocean, beach, and sky scene. Drawing a scene can help inspire creative thinking, especially for those students who may have a hard time getting started on a writing project.

2. Free-write names of sea life that make the beach or ocean its home. Example, write “Whale” in the water part of the picture or “Gull” in the sky part of the picture. The goal is to fill the page with as many of these words as possible to use in drafting an essay.

3. Research books, magazines, educational websites, and ocean links to find a sea creature that you’ve never heard of before, such as the new Zombie Worm recently discovered in the Antarctic Ocean. There are links to several wonderful educational ocean websites on the Educator’s Guide for These Seas Count! (found on my website) including this one: http://oceana.org/en/explore/marine-wildlife.

4. List at least five facts on one new sea creature. Include this new creature on drawing.

5. Use ocean drawing to inspire writing. How does that new creature, like the Sea Fan or Zombie Worm interact with other creatures on the ocean drawing?

6. Write about this creature using the five facts discovered through research. Share information as if writing for someone who has never been to the ocean.

7. Make a splash using personal knowledge of the ocean, along with newly discovered facts, to draft an essay that is both interesting and fun to research, to write, and to read.

Alison Formento is the author of This Tree Counts!, This Tree, 1, 2, 3, These Bees Count!, and These Seas Count! For more about Alison visit her website: www.alisonashleyformento.com