Monday, June 11, 2007
Bookslut reviews by yours truly
Two book reviews I wrote are up at Bookslut today. I'm thrilled to contribute to such a great lit site (even if the name is one I'm not so fond of mentioning to relatives - heh). I reviewed two excellent memoirs-- Easter Everywhere by Darcey Steinke and The End of the World as We Know It by Robert Goolrick. Hope you enjoy them and are reading something great these days yourself! LOVE & LIT, Erin :)
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Book news!
Great news! The 826CHI book -- A Sunday Afternoon Hotdog Meal: A Guide to Chicago -- is here! We had the book's release party today at the Printer's Row Book Festival in downtown Chicago, with readings by a couple dozen of the 205 kids who contributed to it. I've spent the past semester, along with many other 826-ers, helping students brainstorm, write, and edit stories for this book and I can't tell you how proud I am of their work. I wish I could quote dozens and dozens of stories here, and I wish everyone could have seen the packed auditorium of proud kids, parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends from all over the city who came to hear the young authors read about "shrimp from the future, a park shaped like a spot of paint, six-foot tall smelly, sweaty men, a pizza crust that's humungous, kind and friendly neighbors, and cabs that smell like fresh flowers". (Yep, that's the subtitle of the book!)
Can you imagine how cool it must be to be 7 or 9 or 12 years old and already be a published author? (The kids got to wear laminates at the party with the cover of the book on them and AUTHOR in big letters. They were beaming.) I hope this experience makes them feel like they can do anything they set their minds to. One mom actually came up to us at the book sales table and said "You took my son, a reluctant writer, and made him love writing." I can't imagine a better response.
Because I can't resist, here are just a few bits of glorious Chicago advice from the students, grades 2-6:
About the city . . .
"One of my special memories of the Lincoln Park Zoo is Monkey Day. It's when the zoo puts every single monkey in one place!" - Justice
"In Chicago you will find a lot of entertainment and people telling jokes. Trust me, you will laugh so hard you will start crying." - Stefany
"The Cubs' whole team's players are boy players. No women -- boooo!" - Nia
About transit . . .
"You must not play with the vine that stops the bus." - Eduardo
"I love a train and want to marry it because it is cute and pretty." - Brandon
"If you do not have money you should have walked." - Jocelyn
About dining out . . .
"Nicky's has good food and you will know Nicky's because it looks like the old days." - Kevin
"When you come to Chicago, if you are starving don't panic." - Karen
About dining in . . .
"My grandma makes the best pound cake in the city. Her pound cake is brown and the size of a laptop." - Dale
"My dad's lemon cheesecake tastes like you're in a bubble of miracle." - Nadeja
And those are truly just the tip of the iceberg. This book is so wonderful, when I opened it and saw my name inside I must have looked like the biggest grinning idiot. "Trust me," I was in a "bubble of miracle."
LOVE & IMAGINATION,
Erin
Can you imagine how cool it must be to be 7 or 9 or 12 years old and already be a published author? (The kids got to wear laminates at the party with the cover of the book on them and AUTHOR in big letters. They were beaming.) I hope this experience makes them feel like they can do anything they set their minds to. One mom actually came up to us at the book sales table and said "You took my son, a reluctant writer, and made him love writing." I can't imagine a better response.
Because I can't resist, here are just a few bits of glorious Chicago advice from the students, grades 2-6:
About the city . . .
"One of my special memories of the Lincoln Park Zoo is Monkey Day. It's when the zoo puts every single monkey in one place!" - Justice
"In Chicago you will find a lot of entertainment and people telling jokes. Trust me, you will laugh so hard you will start crying." - Stefany
"The Cubs' whole team's players are boy players. No women -- boooo!" - Nia
About transit . . .
"You must not play with the vine that stops the bus." - Eduardo
"I love a train and want to marry it because it is cute and pretty." - Brandon
"If you do not have money you should have walked." - Jocelyn
About dining out . . .
"Nicky's has good food and you will know Nicky's because it looks like the old days." - Kevin
"When you come to Chicago, if you are starving don't panic." - Karen
About dining in . . .
"My grandma makes the best pound cake in the city. Her pound cake is brown and the size of a laptop." - Dale
"My dad's lemon cheesecake tastes like you're in a bubble of miracle." - Nadeja
And those are truly just the tip of the iceberg. This book is so wonderful, when I opened it and saw my name inside I must have looked like the biggest grinning idiot. "Trust me," I was in a "bubble of miracle."
LOVE & IMAGINATION,
Erin
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Adventures in imagination, Pt. 2
I now present more Fun Silly Awesomeness courtesy of the first graders I taught today at 826CHI. We wrote the story below as a class and then each kid got to write his or her own ending. TODAY'S Q FOR COMMENTING: How would you end the story? - Erin
TREASURE-HUNTING IN THE KINGDOM OF DOLPHINS
Once upon a time, on the planet Marvish, in the Kingdom of Dolphins, there lived a prince and princess. They were five years old, and their names were Rosabelle and Armanjoey. The Kingdom of Dolphins was underwater, and all of the kids there swam around all day.
Rosabelle and Armanjoey were sister and brother, and they really loved to go hunting for gold treasure. When they went hunting, they always wore safari hats, camoflauge, and brought magnifying glasses as big as T-Rexes.
One day, they thought that there was no treasure anymore in the Kingdom of Dolphins so they went to the Forest of Seaweed. In the Forest of Seaweed, Rosabelle and Armanjoey met a wizard who magically popped out of the seaweed and said, “Boo!!!!!!!!” The wizard was a man with a tall, pointy hat with blue stars on it. Rosabelle and Armanjoey were scared, so they huddled together and screamed, “Ahhhh!!!!!”
The wizard said, “Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Wizard George, and I was just being silly because I wanted you to laugh and be my friends. Come to my house, I have gold treasure there.”
So, the prince and princess followed Wizard George to his magic house made of eyeballs. “Eeeww” they said. They were surprised, frightened, and grossed out, but they wanted to go in anyway because of the gold.
When they went in, suddenly Wizard George pushed a button made of earwax and an eyeball, and a cage fell on the dolphins.
To be continued . . . (write your own ending in a comment!)
TREASURE-HUNTING IN THE KINGDOM OF DOLPHINS
Once upon a time, on the planet Marvish, in the Kingdom of Dolphins, there lived a prince and princess. They were five years old, and their names were Rosabelle and Armanjoey. The Kingdom of Dolphins was underwater, and all of the kids there swam around all day.
Rosabelle and Armanjoey were sister and brother, and they really loved to go hunting for gold treasure. When they went hunting, they always wore safari hats, camoflauge, and brought magnifying glasses as big as T-Rexes.
One day, they thought that there was no treasure anymore in the Kingdom of Dolphins so they went to the Forest of Seaweed. In the Forest of Seaweed, Rosabelle and Armanjoey met a wizard who magically popped out of the seaweed and said, “Boo!!!!!!!!” The wizard was a man with a tall, pointy hat with blue stars on it. Rosabelle and Armanjoey were scared, so they huddled together and screamed, “Ahhhh!!!!!”
The wizard said, “Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Wizard George, and I was just being silly because I wanted you to laugh and be my friends. Come to my house, I have gold treasure there.”
So, the prince and princess followed Wizard George to his magic house made of eyeballs. “Eeeww” they said. They were surprised, frightened, and grossed out, but they wanted to go in anyway because of the gold.
When they went in, suddenly Wizard George pushed a button made of earwax and an eyeball, and a cage fell on the dolphins.
To be continued . . . (write your own ending in a comment!)
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Clown dictionaries & Double trampolines!
Here's a sampling of the endings my first-grade students wrote to the story I posted earlier. Do yourself a favor and read them all. Pink rocks, clown dictionaries, and double trampoline time machines for everyone! L&G, E
"Now we are stuck in Yubba!" said Whanch.
"Why are we fighting?" asked Squoosh.
"I do not know. But we ate too much glink food," said Whanch.
The only way to get to New York is to shake hands. So they did. And when they got to New York they lived happily ever after. The end.
"OK, let me think," said Squoosh. "I have an idea. We can walk around and yell for help, and if someone comes along we can ask them for help to get back to where we were."
"Wait," said Whanch. "I have a better idea. We can find some more glink fruit and eat more of it."
"That might work!" said Squoosh. "Let's try it!"
They did and it worked. Then they became friends again. The end.
Whanch saw some magic powder. He picked it up and poured some on him. He was nice again so he poured some on the other and they became friends again. Whanch saw a plane in the sky and yelled to the plane driver. The driver came down and took them to New York. They were happy there.
"OK, Squoosh, I'm just going to play by myself!" While he was playing he made a double trampoline. In the middle of the night Whanch climbed in the other side of the trampoline and formed a time machine. He climbed in and went back to the jungle. In the morning, Squoosh found another time machine and followed him.
Then Whanch gets a clown to get a dictionary to live in a new world. Then Squoosh gets a maid to tell him the best way to live in a funny hairy world. Then Whanch gets a plan to get out of this world and be friends again. Whanch gets Squoosh and they got a pink rock and they put both of their hands on the pink rock. Then Whanch and Squoosh became friends again. Then poooooof they are back on Scripton.
"Now we are stuck in Yubba!" said Whanch.
"Why are we fighting?" asked Squoosh.
"I do not know. But we ate too much glink food," said Whanch.
The only way to get to New York is to shake hands. So they did. And when they got to New York they lived happily ever after. The end.
"OK, let me think," said Squoosh. "I have an idea. We can walk around and yell for help, and if someone comes along we can ask them for help to get back to where we were."
"Wait," said Whanch. "I have a better idea. We can find some more glink fruit and eat more of it."
"That might work!" said Squoosh. "Let's try it!"
They did and it worked. Then they became friends again. The end.
Whanch saw some magic powder. He picked it up and poured some on him. He was nice again so he poured some on the other and they became friends again. Whanch saw a plane in the sky and yelled to the plane driver. The driver came down and took them to New York. They were happy there.
"OK, Squoosh, I'm just going to play by myself!" While he was playing he made a double trampoline. In the middle of the night Whanch climbed in the other side of the trampoline and formed a time machine. He climbed in and went back to the jungle. In the morning, Squoosh found another time machine and followed him.
Then Whanch gets a clown to get a dictionary to live in a new world. Then Squoosh gets a maid to tell him the best way to live in a funny hairy world. Then Whanch gets a plan to get out of this world and be friends again. Whanch gets Squoosh and they got a pink rock and they put both of their hands on the pink rock. Then Whanch and Squoosh became friends again. Then poooooof they are back on Scripton.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Adventures in imagination
I know yesterday's post was heavy, so today I present some Fun Silly Awesomeness courtesy of the first grade authors I taught today. We wrote the story below as a class and then each kid got to write his or her own ending. I'll be back tomorrow with a sampling of the AMAZING endings they wrote. In the meantime, here's wishing you "plantinum google" moments of happiness.
LOVE & IMAGINATION,
Erin
ADVENTURES OF WHANCH AND SQUOOSH
Once upon a time on the planet Scripton there lived a tiger-turtle named Whanch Rary and his best friend Squoosh the Ball. Squoosh was a walking, talking ball who loved to slide down the branches of the jungle trees. Whanch Rary was ten years old and every day he dreamed of walking to New York.
One day, they decided to go on a long walk through the jungles of Scripton. "Where do you want to go?" Whanch asked Squoosh. "I've always dreamed of going to New York," Squoosh said. Whanch's eyes popped out and his mouth popped open. "Wow! That's my dream, too!"
The two best friends skipped along through the jungle, taking breaks so Squoosh could slide on the branches. When they got hungry, they stopped and picked bananas, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream sundaes, and glink-fruit. Glink-fruit is a magical fruit that comes in a six-pointed shape and turns your tongue forest green.
There was one big problem. Whanch and Squoosh didn't know that if you eat too much glink-fruit you will vanish into another world, where things are the opposite, and a tiger-turtle and a ball cannot be friends anymore. The friends had each eaten platinum google pieces of glink-fruit and platinum google is the biggest number there is on planet Scripton.
Suddenly, they poofed into another world. "OOO, what's happening?" they said, stomping their feet. "This is all your fault," they pointed. "We're supposed to go to New York."
To be continued soon by awesome 7-year-olds . . .
LOVE & IMAGINATION,
Erin
ADVENTURES OF WHANCH AND SQUOOSH
Once upon a time on the planet Scripton there lived a tiger-turtle named Whanch Rary and his best friend Squoosh the Ball. Squoosh was a walking, talking ball who loved to slide down the branches of the jungle trees. Whanch Rary was ten years old and every day he dreamed of walking to New York.
One day, they decided to go on a long walk through the jungles of Scripton. "Where do you want to go?" Whanch asked Squoosh. "I've always dreamed of going to New York," Squoosh said. Whanch's eyes popped out and his mouth popped open. "Wow! That's my dream, too!"
The two best friends skipped along through the jungle, taking breaks so Squoosh could slide on the branches. When they got hungry, they stopped and picked bananas, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream sundaes, and glink-fruit. Glink-fruit is a magical fruit that comes in a six-pointed shape and turns your tongue forest green.
There was one big problem. Whanch and Squoosh didn't know that if you eat too much glink-fruit you will vanish into another world, where things are the opposite, and a tiger-turtle and a ball cannot be friends anymore. The friends had each eaten platinum google pieces of glink-fruit and platinum google is the biggest number there is on planet Scripton.
Suddenly, they poofed into another world. "OOO, what's happening?" they said, stomping their feet. "This is all your fault," they pointed. "We're supposed to go to New York."
To be continued soon by awesome 7-year-olds . . .
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
A tough day of teaching
Yesterday I worked with fourth graders at a school on the far south side of Chicago, helping them with memoir essays they are writing about themselves. All five students in my group were writing about something sad, to say the least. The sweetest one was about how much one boy missed living in the suburbs, where he had been a straight A student and had a best friend. Two were about murders of family members. One of those, the most gut-wrenching, was by a boy who had witnessed his father kill his mother with an ax.
At first the boy was very angry in his writing, wanting to push his father out of a window and watch him die. But he didn't want to read that aloud to me. He got this look on his face like he couldn't stand to say those words. He got distracted, fighting with the other kids at the table, throwing things on the floor, threatening to beat up the girl across from him. "I know you're a girl, but I'll kick your ass like a boy." It was intense. And again, the kid was 10.
But finally I got him to skip ahead in his essay, and he read to me about how he wants to be a good kid and grow up to be a good man -- a fireman or a policeman -- and that he will respect his wife and never lay a hand on his kids. I wanted to take him in my arms and hug him tight, but that's frowned upon, I'm sure, so we high-fived over the success of getting his feelings on paper and completing the assignment. I can't imagine being 10 years old, your mother dead, your father in prison, your siblings spread out with relatives, your mind clouded by the most unforgettable, unthinkable images. The murder happened when he was 2 years old. It must be the boy's first memory.
The lovely thing about yesterday was I'd met these kids before. We realized it when I walked in their classroom. They all started calling out to their teacher, "We know her!" and "Hey! It's Miss Erin!" and my favorite "Your hair used to be black!" (which it almost was a couple months ago). Turns out, that class had come to 826CHI for a bookmaking field trip and I had been their teacher. I loved seeing them again, since Chicago is a big city and I always assume I'll never see the field trip kids after they leave. Now I am determined to find a way to stay in touch with these kids, especially that one boy. I left a message with the school's office to see if they have a mentorship program, and if I don't hear back today, I'm going to keep trying.
At first the boy was very angry in his writing, wanting to push his father out of a window and watch him die. But he didn't want to read that aloud to me. He got this look on his face like he couldn't stand to say those words. He got distracted, fighting with the other kids at the table, throwing things on the floor, threatening to beat up the girl across from him. "I know you're a girl, but I'll kick your ass like a boy." It was intense. And again, the kid was 10.
But finally I got him to skip ahead in his essay, and he read to me about how he wants to be a good kid and grow up to be a good man -- a fireman or a policeman -- and that he will respect his wife and never lay a hand on his kids. I wanted to take him in my arms and hug him tight, but that's frowned upon, I'm sure, so we high-fived over the success of getting his feelings on paper and completing the assignment. I can't imagine being 10 years old, your mother dead, your father in prison, your siblings spread out with relatives, your mind clouded by the most unforgettable, unthinkable images. The murder happened when he was 2 years old. It must be the boy's first memory.
The lovely thing about yesterday was I'd met these kids before. We realized it when I walked in their classroom. They all started calling out to their teacher, "We know her!" and "Hey! It's Miss Erin!" and my favorite "Your hair used to be black!" (which it almost was a couple months ago). Turns out, that class had come to 826CHI for a bookmaking field trip and I had been their teacher. I loved seeing them again, since Chicago is a big city and I always assume I'll never see the field trip kids after they leave. Now I am determined to find a way to stay in touch with these kids, especially that one boy. I left a message with the school's office to see if they have a mentorship program, and if I don't hear back today, I'm going to keep trying.
Monday, May 14, 2007
New column for Chicago6Corners!
My latest column for Chicago6Corners is up! So far I've made it my mission to spotlight education-related nonprofits in my area, and I feel great about being able to do that. Plus, these places are a blast! Read on.
In other news, the next meeting of Silver Lining Writers Group will be Tuesday, May 22. Mark your calendar, Chicagoans. And thanks to everyone for asking about progress on THESE HALLS USED TO BE TALLER! It's going like gang busters. I'm on such a roll I have to force myself to get up walk around the block every now and then for fresh air. I'll try to get another excerpt up for you tomorrow. - Erin :)
In other news, the next meeting of Silver Lining Writers Group will be Tuesday, May 22. Mark your calendar, Chicagoans. And thanks to everyone for asking about progress on THESE HALLS USED TO BE TALLER! It's going like gang busters. I'm on such a roll I have to force myself to get up walk around the block every now and then for fresh air. I'll try to get another excerpt up for you tomorrow. - Erin :)
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