World of Words

Posted on 09/05/2010

ReaderKidZ is excited about World of Words, a site we’ve only recently discovered. WOW is maintained by the University of Arizona College of Education and houses the International Collection of Children’s and Adolescent Literature (ICCAL).

Their mission: WOW is committed to creating an international network of people who share the vision of bringing books and children together, thereby opening windows on the world.  We encourage thoughtful dialogue around international literature so that children can reflect on their own cultural experience and connect to the experience of others across the globe.

On the WOW site: “You will find many useful resources … for building bridges between cultures. These resources include multiple strategies for locating and evaluating culturally authentic international children’s and adolescent literature as well as ways of engaging students with these books in classrooms and libraries.”

Learn all about World of Words HERE.

Barbara O’Connor, Author-In-Residence

Posted on 09/01/2010

When a magical secret falls off a freight train almost in his backyard in Georgia, adventuresome Owen Jester is ready to make the most of it. And why not? It’s summer, the days are long and lazy, and Owen’s two best friends are ready to help … but are they? How far can lead your friends down a fantastic path, and what if the nosy neighbor (and a girl, yet!) you’re trying to avoid turns out to be the best friend a boy can have?

In THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER Barbara O’Connor has woven a magical tale of summer and ponds and bullfrogs, but especially of friendship. Unexpected friendship, that leads to an adventure of a lifetime.

From Barbara O’Connor:

Before I sat down to write THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER, I only knew two things about the story. I knew the first sentence: “Owen Jester tiptoed across the gleaming linoleum floor and slipped the frog into the soup.” (Don’t worry. No frogs were harmed in the writing of this book. The soup was cold.) And I knew that something was going to fall off of the train that ran behind Owen Jester’s house. (But I didn’t know what it was. I had to think about that for a while!) Next, I had to create characters and get to know them well. I created Owen Jester and his two best friends, Travis and Stumpy, and his nosy, know-it-all neighbor, Viola. After that, I was ready to write a story about a frog, a fantastic secret, and four kids who share a summer they will never forget.

Read “What’s Your Story, Barbara O’Connor?” HERE.

For more books by Barbara, visit her website HERE.

Barbara’s Story

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I grew up in the South, so my strongest childhood memories revolve around the rich details unique to the people and places of that part of the country. Boiled peanuts. Moonpies. Kudzu vines that grow so thick and fast they gobble up telephone poles and even barns. Steamy summers with asphalt roads that melt and stick to the bottom of your feet. Wild blackberries  and Queen Ann’s lace lining the red dirt roads in the countryside.

My favorite family times were picnics in the Smoky Mountains. I loved the winding roads, the lush woods, the flowing mountain streams with boulders to jump onto to get to the other side. I went to summer camp every year in those mountains. The Smoky Mountains will always be my heart’s home. (I have written two books that are set there.)

I was an independent child, riding my bicycle to neighborhood stores for penny candy. I loved exploring the woods and playing in creeks, catching tadpoles and salamanders and frogs.

I loved to read. Sometimes my friends and I would act out the stories we read, trotting around the backyard on invisible ponies and solving mysteries in a pretend haunted attic.

And I loved to write. I wrote poems and stories and books.

  • What were your favorite things to do when you were young?

When I wasn’t catching salamanders or playing paper dolls, I was writing. The first book I ever wrote was about a girl who loved to ride horses:

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Your Friend, Barbara O’Connor

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Dear Reader:

I’m glad you’re reading my book THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER.

When I was your age, one of my favorite things to do was to play in the woods and in creeks. I loved to catch the critters that lived there: salamanders and tadpoles and minnows and crawfish and frogs. One time I was determined to catch the biggest, greenest, slimiest bullfrog I had ever seen in my life. I made a trap out of a bird cage! I actually caught that frog in the bird cage. I kept it in a big plastic tub for a few days and then I let it go. I remember watching it swim away, pushing its froggy legs through the water, and thinking how happy he must have been to not be in that plastic tub anymore.

That bullfrog became Tooley Graham, the bullfrog in my book.

I loved to read when I was your age. I wasn’t always able to go to a library. But I was lucky that a bookmobile came to my neighborhood every few weeks. I would race to the corner and wait for it to arrive. Then I would climb inside and search for books. The children’s books were always on the bottom shelves, so I had to crawl along the dirty floor on my hands and knees. I usually chose stories that had animals in them, especially dogs.

I also loved to write when I was young, but I never dreamed I would grow up to write books for children! I hope you’re enjoying THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER. But I hope you didn’t have to crawl on a dirty floor to find it.

With warmest wishes,
Barbara O’Connor

Click HERE to download and share Barbara O’Connor’s letter with students and HERE to download a Reader’s Theatre for THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER.

For more about Barbara, visit her website HERE.

THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER: Reader’s Theatre

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Incorporate Barbara O’Connor’s incredible new book THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER into your academic activities by downloading this brief Reader’s Theatre script depicting a pivotal scene highlighting the dramatic conflict between Owen Jester, his best buddies, and his nosy, know-it-all neighbor, Viola.

The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester Reader’s Theatre

Reader’s Theater activities are marvelous tools for developing reading comprehension, practicing oral reading skills, faciliating teamwork, and building confidence. After your students enjoy performing our short ReaderKidZ script, encourage them to chose their favorite parts of the story and draft their own versions of Reader’s Theatre. It is easy to do. If you’re interested in trying your hand at creating a script download the following step-by-step descriptive guide illustrating how to do so!

How to Create Reader’s Theatre Performance Piece

Find out more about author Barbara O’Connor HERE.

The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester by Barbara O’Connor

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After a month of hard work, Owen Jester has finally caught the “biggest, greenest, slimiest, most beautiful bullfrog ever to be seen in Carter, Georgia.”

Owen named his new pet, Tooley Graham. Tooley, after his Alabama cousin and Graham, for the pond behind Owen’s grandfather’s house, where the bullfrog had lived before Owen had snatched him up and brought him home.

While Owen and his two best friends, Travis and Stumpy, try to avoid nosy neighbor and all-around smarty pants, Viola, the friends hatch a plan to build a cage in the pond for Tooley.

And then there’s the matter of the “THUD!”, the crack of wood, the tumble, tumble, tumble sound. Owen had heard something – hadn’t he? – when the train had  whooshed by in the middle of the night.

Owen, his two best friends, his frog, Tooley, and even nosy Viola, are in for an unusual adventure any kid is sure to enjoy.

Read more about author, Barbara O’Connor HERE.

September is Library Card Sign-up Month!

Posted on 08/31/2010

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month – a time when the American Library Association and libraries across the country remind parents that the most important school supply of all is found at your public library–it’s your library card! Since 1988, the month of September has marked a month of celebration and a continuation of a national campaign launched nationwide!

Not only does the library card allow you to borrow millions of dollars worth of materials, but it also often allows remote access to databases. If you or you child do not have a library card, get one today and be welcomed into a world of literary wonder!

Click here  for details on the “celebration.”