• Wings for a Flower author interview

    Cut-paper illustration, Chenai, India street scene, by Ellen Gaffney

    Cut-paper illustration, Chenai, India street scene, by Ellen Gaffney

    Ellen Gaffney’s picture book WINGS FOR A FLOWER tells a story of disability and freedom. I have a friend so close he is like my brother. He has never walked and from the time he was a toddler he got around in a Lotus Dreamingwheelchair.  I had not thought about what a person would do if they couldn’t get a wheel chair which I’ve learned is true for 100 million people around the world. Ellen tells the story of a child in India named Lotus who becomes ill and loses her ability to walk. READ MORE

  • “Children of War”

    I’m shaping  a new program I offer in schools and communities. Through documentary photos, oral history of refugees, reports of on-the-scene war correspondents, and readings from The Good Braider,  I takes listeners on the journey of children and their families out of war in South Sudan. The program is called  ”Children of War”  & captures the larger picture of contemporary displacement of populations due to conflict. Some documentary photographers and have granted permission to show their stunning photos in schools.

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  • Librarians on Verse Novels

     

    For a School Library Journal  article,  I interviewed many librarians about their recommendations of verse novels to kids and teens in their libraries.  And I interviewed many writers about their process in writing verse novels.   A new direction was given to the article by SLJ and a lot of these wonderful speakers are not in the final piece.  The editor’s advice – Librarians know all that.  Tell them some inside story  about you,  something only they will know if they read this piece. So I scratched my head and tried to imagine that.

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  • Children’s Literature and Adult Literacy

     

    Terry Farish and interpreter Nilhari BhandariFor five year it has been my great joy, and challenge, to direct the adult literacy program of the New Hampshire Humanities Council. The NH Humanities Council Newsletter features an article  I wrote on bringing children’s literature to adults learning English.  I wrote about our work with adult students and the goal of the book discussion program that is the cornerstone of our literacy work.  The  article is a reflection on bringing children’s literature to adults.  As of  July, I am not longer on the staff of the Humanities Council but I support the ongoing work   and cheer on my colleague every day.

  • Fisher Boys

     

    FISHER BOYS IN FACES800“Sometimes a boy can step through the flimsy planks made from nibong palm trees that form the floor of the fishing platform. He could hurt his leg very badly. Sometimes when the moon is full and the fish are running, he can only catnap throughout the night.”

    Read my full article here:  “Fisher Boys” about the life of boys from Sumatra who work off fishing platforms on the sea. From FACES: PEOPLE, PLACES, AND CULTURES (May – June 2009)