Fighting Illiteracy in Afghanistan is No Laughing Matter to Torontonians
Or Is It?
Centuries-Old Folk Hero Stars in Benefit Multicultural Laugh-Fest to Provide Books for Needy Afghan Children
TORONTO (Oct. 1, 2010) -- Mulla Nasrudin, the centuries-old star of countless jokes in Afghanistan and other countries throughout Central Asia and the Middle East, will be the guest of honor at a zany cross-cultural extravaganza in Toronto to benefit needy children in Afghanistan. Afghans so love the Mulla's wacky wit that they claim him as their native son. But so do many other Middle Eastern, Central Asian and other cultures.
Actually, nobody really knows who Nasrudin was or if he ever existed. But that's not stopping the Institute for Cross-Cultural Exchange (ICE) from celebrating his birthday on Nov. 13, 2010 from 7:30 to 10:30 pm at Emmanuel Howard Park United Church 214 Wright Ave., Toronto. Canada's finest musicians, jokesters, dancers and storytellers will perform at this madcap multinational mirth fest featuring Georgian, Afghan, Arabic, and Jewish cultures.
The program will feature:
Drew the Dramatic Fool
George Sawa . Suzanne Meyers Sawa
Rhythm of the Nile Dance Co. and Artistic Director Nada El Masriya
Shalva Makharashvili . Andrea Kuzmich . Reid Robins of Zari
Eric Stein . Ray Dillard
Dan Yashinsky . Aubrey Davis . Sandra Carpenter-Davis
Anyone wishing to tell a Mulla tale!
Tickets $25 Family $45
Order Online: http://happybirthdaynasrudin.eventbrite.com By Phone: 416-537-2006 Or Email: nasrudintickets@gmail.com
Can't attend? Why not give the gift of literacy? For under $1 you can provide a book for an Afghan child. Visit: www.iceeducation.org/engl/donate.html
For more information: www.iceeducation.org/engl/eventsNasrudin2010.html
For Press Release: www.iceeducation.org/images/Nasrudin-press-release-new.pdf
For more about Nasrudin: www.ishk.net/mulla_nasrudin.html
Follow the Mulla on Facebook http://twitter.com/NineDonkeys & http://ninedonkeys.wordpress.com/
ICE (http://www.iceeducation.org/) is an all-volunteer Canadian charity that addresses family literacy and promotes
understanding between cultures. So far, it has donated over 46,000 books to seventy Canadian non-profit literacy groups serving needy children Canada-wide. This year ICE is beginning a new initiative in Afghanistan, where literacy rates are among the lowest in the world. Its aim is to provide as many Afghan children as possible with their very own books. For at least 95% of them, these will certainly be the first books they own -- and may well be tales that their grandparents recognize from their own childhood. We hope that repatriating these stories in book form will be a comforting bridge to literacy and a legacy for young Afghans and their future.
Proceeds from the Toronto fundraiser will provide beautifully illustrated Dari-Pashto versions of traditional oral tales from Afghanistan and Central Asia, collected and adapted for children by Afghan author Idries Shah (www.hoopoekids.com). These delightful multi-functional "Teaching Stories" stimulate insight, flexibility and other higher-order thinking skills. They help children and adults alike better understand themselves and their world. Similarly Nasrudin's outrageous multi-dimensional tales have provoked laughter and thought in young and old throughout the East for centuries (http://www.ishk.net/mulla_nasrudin.html). On November 13, Torontonians will have a rare opportunity to share the same jokes and help some needy Afghan children learn to read.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
A Book Cart Parade? What Better Way to Celebrate Books and Literacy?
Today I had the great honor to present at the 3rd annual Mississauga Literary Festival. It was a great event, overflowing with families enjoying the displays, the entertainment (which included authors such as Jennifer Maruno, Nicholas Boving and Judy Fong Bates) and a parade.
Since the event was sponsored by the Mississauga Library System, the parade was not your ordinary celebs-waving-from-convertibles parade. Instead, it featured that ubiquitous and beloved shelvers' vehicle: The library cart.
And who could have imagined what fun could be had with that humble four-wheeled metal workhouse?
I apologize for the quality of the pictures - I was being jostled on all sides by eager fans! But I hope these images will inspire librarians eveerywhere to get creative too.
These costumed "pushers" brought their carts around the centre to the general amusement of the crowd.
This one's decorated with 1000 cranes...
Every branch in the Missisauga Library System entered a cart in the parade. I don't know if there was a prize for the best effort, but it would have been hard to choose...
More "pushers" - these of the book variety....
This cart was decorated by a youth group of Manga fans!
If this Alice in Wonderland themed cart appears blurry, it's only because it was already disappearing down a rabbit hole...and into a good book!
Since the event was sponsored by the Mississauga Library System, the parade was not your ordinary celebs-waving-from-convertibles parade. Instead, it featured that ubiquitous and beloved shelvers' vehicle: The library cart.
And who could have imagined what fun could be had with that humble four-wheeled metal workhouse?
I apologize for the quality of the pictures - I was being jostled on all sides by eager fans! But I hope these images will inspire librarians eveerywhere to get creative too.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Update on the Air Lift: News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT:
mgaynor@accessbooks.net
332-420-5850
ACCESS BOOKS AND “AIR LIFT TO L.A.” DELIVER BOOKS TO COMPTON SCHOOL ON OCTOBER 2
L.A.-based non-profit serving SoCal’s most impoverished school libraries partners with Canadian children’s author, Helaine Becker, to put books on Bunche Elementary’s empty shelves
Los Angeles – As part of their ongoing commitment to strengthen inner-city school libraries throughout Los Angeles and beyond, Access Books has joined forces with a team of Canadian authors to help Ralph Bunche Elementary (16223 Haskins Lane, Carson, CA 90746-1092) on October 2, 2010 at 9 a.m. One of 25 elementary schools in the Compton Unified School District (CUSD), Bunche is in desperate need of books for its 450 students.
Access Books, “Air Lift to L.A.” and a team of volunteers from Bunche will spend October 2nd revitalizing the library by painting murals and cataloging brand new books. In addition to the books, Access Books will provide a reading rug, rocking chair and sofa to create a warm and inviting environment for students. Five authors from Canada will be on hand for the event and to give fun and exciting presentations to the students.
The participating authors are:
Rob Weston, author of Silver Birch award winner Zorgamazoo
Kari-Lynn Winters, author of Chocolate Lily award-winner Jeffrey and the Sloth
Jill Murray, YA author of Rhythm and Blues and Break on Through
Wendy Kitts, Freelance Writer, Book Reviewer, and author of a soon-to-be published picture book from Nimbus Press
Helaine Becker, author of more than 40 books for children including Silver Birch award winners Boredom Blasters and Secret Agent Y.O.U.
Sadly, only 48 percent of Bunche’s students are scoring “proficient” or “advanced” in English & Language Arts on the California Standards Test. Research has shown that the best predictor of how well a child will learn to read is the number of books to which he or she has access, but 61 percent of economically disadvantaged children don’t have age-appropriate books at home. The students of Bunche Elementary fit this profile: 90 percent live at or below the poverty line. According to a 2009 report from the Jumpstart Foundation, communities ranking high in achievement tests share a common denominator: an abundance of books in their libraries.
California's Department of Education recommends 28 library books per student, according to the February 2010 draft of its School Library Standards. Bunche, however, has a mere three books per student. Therefore, Access Books has set a goal: Collect at least 5,000 books for Bunche’s library and classrooms. Many of these will be brand new, popular fiction titles – books that have been carefully selected to get students excited about reading.
Access Books’ partner for this endeavor, “Air Lift to L.A.,” grew wings after Canadian children’s author Helaine Becker visited a Long Beach elementary school and saw the empty shelves. Shocked and saddened, she rallied her Canadian colleagues and started a book drive. “The conditions [in Los Angeles] are on par with the worst of the Third World countries,” she writes on the “Air Lift to L.A.” Facebook page. “Actually, they are worse, because in much of the Third World, people are doing their best to raise their standards, while in Los Angeles, conditions have deteriorated abysmally in the last ten years.”
Bunche has just moved its campus library into a new, larger space to afford room for growth, but unfortunately, many of the shelves are bare. The library assistant nicknamed the library “The Dream Shop,” but with so few books, its dreams have yet to be realized.
California ranks last in the nation in funding for school libraries, spending less than one dollar per child. Although the 2011 federal budget proposal includes a $400 billion investment in education, there’s no mention of federal funds specifically geared toward school libraries. According to Sandra Barnett, head of the American School Library Association, “the budget is proposing to take away the last access to literacy for these kids in high-poverty areas.” The American School Library research data clearly shows that students with access to school libraries and good books score higher in state reading scores and are more interested in reading.
“I think the big issue is that we really need to make reading part of school and make reading fun and interesting,” said Rebecca Constantino, P.h.D., the founder and executive director of Access Books. “And that starts with having a good library.”
About ACCESS BOOKS: Access Books provides quality, high-interest books to Southern California's most impoverished school libraries. Since 1999, they have donated more than a million books to school and community libraries in the greater Los Angeles area. Access Books has been featured in USA Today, the L.A. Times, the New York Times and School Library Journal among many other media outlets. Access Books’ founder, Rebecca Constantino, is a recipient of Oprah’s “Use Your Life” award. She has published over 100 articles and a book in the areas of literacy development, equity in education, urban school and cultural perspectives of language acquisition.
Give a Child a Book, She’ll be Happy
Give a Child a Library, She’ll be Literate
P.O. Box 64951, Los Angeles, CA 90064
310-284-3452
www.accessbooks.net
####
mgaynor@accessbooks.net
332-420-5850
ACCESS BOOKS AND “AIR LIFT TO L.A.” DELIVER BOOKS TO COMPTON SCHOOL ON OCTOBER 2
L.A.-based non-profit serving SoCal’s most impoverished school libraries partners with Canadian children’s author, Helaine Becker, to put books on Bunche Elementary’s empty shelves
Los Angeles – As part of their ongoing commitment to strengthen inner-city school libraries throughout Los Angeles and beyond, Access Books has joined forces with a team of Canadian authors to help Ralph Bunche Elementary (16223 Haskins Lane, Carson, CA 90746-1092) on October 2, 2010 at 9 a.m. One of 25 elementary schools in the Compton Unified School District (CUSD), Bunche is in desperate need of books for its 450 students.
Access Books, “Air Lift to L.A.” and a team of volunteers from Bunche will spend October 2nd revitalizing the library by painting murals and cataloging brand new books. In addition to the books, Access Books will provide a reading rug, rocking chair and sofa to create a warm and inviting environment for students. Five authors from Canada will be on hand for the event and to give fun and exciting presentations to the students.
The participating authors are:
Rob Weston, author of Silver Birch award winner Zorgamazoo
Kari-Lynn Winters, author of Chocolate Lily award-winner Jeffrey and the Sloth
Jill Murray, YA author of Rhythm and Blues and Break on Through
Wendy Kitts, Freelance Writer, Book Reviewer, and author of a soon-to-be published picture book from Nimbus Press
Helaine Becker, author of more than 40 books for children including Silver Birch award winners Boredom Blasters and Secret Agent Y.O.U.
Sadly, only 48 percent of Bunche’s students are scoring “proficient” or “advanced” in English & Language Arts on the California Standards Test. Research has shown that the best predictor of how well a child will learn to read is the number of books to which he or she has access, but 61 percent of economically disadvantaged children don’t have age-appropriate books at home. The students of Bunche Elementary fit this profile: 90 percent live at or below the poverty line. According to a 2009 report from the Jumpstart Foundation, communities ranking high in achievement tests share a common denominator: an abundance of books in their libraries.
California's Department of Education recommends 28 library books per student, according to the February 2010 draft of its School Library Standards. Bunche, however, has a mere three books per student. Therefore, Access Books has set a goal: Collect at least 5,000 books for Bunche’s library and classrooms. Many of these will be brand new, popular fiction titles – books that have been carefully selected to get students excited about reading.
Access Books’ partner for this endeavor, “Air Lift to L.A.,” grew wings after Canadian children’s author Helaine Becker visited a Long Beach elementary school and saw the empty shelves. Shocked and saddened, she rallied her Canadian colleagues and started a book drive. “The conditions [in Los Angeles] are on par with the worst of the Third World countries,” she writes on the “Air Lift to L.A.” Facebook page. “Actually, they are worse, because in much of the Third World, people are doing their best to raise their standards, while in Los Angeles, conditions have deteriorated abysmally in the last ten years.”
Bunche has just moved its campus library into a new, larger space to afford room for growth, but unfortunately, many of the shelves are bare. The library assistant nicknamed the library “The Dream Shop,” but with so few books, its dreams have yet to be realized.
California ranks last in the nation in funding for school libraries, spending less than one dollar per child. Although the 2011 federal budget proposal includes a $400 billion investment in education, there’s no mention of federal funds specifically geared toward school libraries. According to Sandra Barnett, head of the American School Library Association, “the budget is proposing to take away the last access to literacy for these kids in high-poverty areas.” The American School Library research data clearly shows that students with access to school libraries and good books score higher in state reading scores and are more interested in reading.
“I think the big issue is that we really need to make reading part of school and make reading fun and interesting,” said Rebecca Constantino, P.h.D., the founder and executive director of Access Books. “And that starts with having a good library.”
About ACCESS BOOKS: Access Books provides quality, high-interest books to Southern California's most impoverished school libraries. Since 1999, they have donated more than a million books to school and community libraries in the greater Los Angeles area. Access Books has been featured in USA Today, the L.A. Times, the New York Times and School Library Journal among many other media outlets. Access Books’ founder, Rebecca Constantino, is a recipient of Oprah’s “Use Your Life” award. She has published over 100 articles and a book in the areas of literacy development, equity in education, urban school and cultural perspectives of language acquisition.
Give a Child a Book, She’ll be Happy
Give a Child a Library, She’ll be Literate
P.O. Box 64951, Los Angeles, CA 90064
310-284-3452
www.accessbooks.net
####
Monday, August 23, 2010
IS YOUR CHILD PART OF THE FOREST OF READING® PROGRAM? #canada #parenting #reading
This post is for Canadian parents, school administrators and teachers. The info in it is adapted from the Forest of Reading website.
Having been privileged to be part of that amazing program three separate times, I can vouch wholeheartedly for the fabulosity of the Forest of Reading, and the huge, positive impression it makes on the kids who are enrolled.
What? You don't live in Ontario? Never Fear. You can find similar information for the Children's Choice Book Award in your home province online (see links at the bottom of this post). The info here is pretty representative of how all the programs work.
Is your child part of the wonderful Forest of Reading program?
Here's how to get the best from the Forest of Reading program for your child:
- Make sure your child is in a Forest of Reading® group.
- Make sure your school or public library has a group in which your young person can participate.
- Take copies of the Forest of Reading® flyer to show principals, teachers, teacher-librarians, librarians and library staff who may not be familiar with this innovative program.
- Purchase books for your child’s group. For most schools and libraries, the biggest obstacle to running the programs is finding the funds to purchase the copies necessary to keep excited readers reading. If the books aren't available, you risk frustration and loss of interest, or limiting the number of children who will be able to participate. Libraries will welcome your willingness to fund even one book. Make your support go further by asking librarians to order the books for you; they get a discount.
- Let other parents know they can help, too. Other parents will want to help as well, but if they do not know about the program, or know there is a need, they will not be able to help. Talk to your home and school group, your principal or your chief librarian.
- Encourage your child to read, read, read! Young people get very excited about this program. Over 200,000 students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 read the Forest of Reading® books in 2010. They take considerable ownership of the program, and they gain even more if the adults around them are cheering them on. It is purely recreational - not tied to the curriculum - and is meant for them to learn to love to read recreationally. You can build interest by reading some of the books aloud or getting your young person to tell you about them.
- BE A SUPPORTER OF THE FOREST OF READING® , the Ontario Library Association, and your school's library/media centre/information centre!
Canada's Children's Choice Awards:
Atlantic Canada - The Hackmatack Award
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Lane Anderson Award Nominations Announced
The Lane Anderson Award is a new award for science writing in Canada. It will honour two jury-selected books, adult and young reader, published in the field of science by Canadian-owned publishers, and authored by Canadians. The winner in each category will receive $10,000.
Here are the short lists - one for adult books and one for kids books.
Adults:
Alanna Mitchell's Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis
The River Returns: An Environmental History of the Bow by Christopher Armstrong, Matthew Evenden and H.V. Nelles
Top 100 Food Plants: The World’s Most Important Culinary Crops by Ernest Small.
Young Readers:
The Insecto-Files by Helaine Becker, illustrated by Claudia Davila
Big and Small, Room For All by Jo Ellen Bogart, illustrated by Gillian Newland
Why Do Horses Have Manes? by Elizabeth MacLeod
Yes! You read that right! My very own The Insecto-Files has made the list!!! I'm sooo excited...I've mentally spent the $10,000 prize six times over!
Two three-person jury panels drawn from the Canadian academic, publishing, creative and institutional fields will review submissions in the two categories, and the jury will be announced with the winners at an event in Toronto on the 15th September.
Here are the short lists - one for adult books and one for kids books.
Adults:
Alanna Mitchell's Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis
The River Returns: An Environmental History of the Bow by Christopher Armstrong, Matthew Evenden and H.V. Nelles
Top 100 Food Plants: The World’s Most Important Culinary Crops by Ernest Small.
Young Readers:
The Insecto-Files by Helaine Becker, illustrated by Claudia Davila
Big and Small, Room For All by Jo Ellen Bogart, illustrated by Gillian Newland
Why Do Horses Have Manes? by Elizabeth MacLeod
Yes! You read that right! My very own The Insecto-Files has made the list!!! I'm sooo excited...I've mentally spent the $10,000 prize six times over!
Two three-person jury panels drawn from the Canadian academic, publishing, creative and institutional fields will review submissions in the two categories, and the jury will be announced with the winners at an event in Toronto on the 15th September.
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Books Have Shipped
The Air Lift has Lifted Off! Here's the "before" pic, as the skid is waiting for pick up:
A big shout out to all the staff at Protectolite that wrapped the skid, labelled it, filled out the paperwork, and got the darn thing ready for pick up - Diana, Krista, Jim et al - you're the best!. And speaking of pick up, Protectolite also picked up the tab for customs and brokerage.
MWAH! to all of you!
The skid was picked up this afternoon by ERB Group. Thanks ERBites for all your help! And thanks also for your help in keeping our costs down to the bare bones minimum. You're also the best!
(Side note: ERB bills themselves on their website as the "Refrigerated Transportation Specialists," so it's nice to know our Canadian books will arrive in California cool as Canadian cucumbers!!!
And because he's just so darn cute, here's another picture of my son Michael with the skid. Wonder what (or who) he's looking at...
The handsome guy sitting on this skid is my son Michael, who did a lot of the work packing boxes along with his brother. The boxes were then brought to my hubby's company, Protectolite Inc., manufacturer of Very Useful composite plastics, and all around A1 Canadian corporate citizen. So if you happen to need Third Rail insulators, armour plating for your army's people movers or baffles, weirs and covers for your water treatment plant, now you know who to call.
A big shout out to all the staff at Protectolite that wrapped the skid, labelled it, filled out the paperwork, and got the darn thing ready for pick up - Diana, Krista, Jim et al - you're the best!. And speaking of pick up, Protectolite also picked up the tab for customs and brokerage.
MWAH! to all of you!
The skid was picked up this afternoon by ERB Group. Thanks ERBites for all your help! And thanks also for your help in keeping our costs down to the bare bones minimum. You're also the best!
(Side note: ERB bills themselves on their website as the "Refrigerated Transportation Specialists," so it's nice to know our Canadian books will arrive in California cool as Canadian cucumbers!!!
And because he's just so darn cute, here's another picture of my son Michael with the skid. Wonder what (or who) he's looking at...
The Air Lift is Locked, Loaded, and Ready to Take Off!
Things have been really moving along since I last posted about the Air Lift to LA. I've been up to my ear-balls with all the deets of making this happen - arranging the delivery of the books to California; arranging some comp air tickets to fly participating authors down to LA... But now we are set.
The ERB Group has given us an ultra-sweet deal on freight so we can afford to get the books were they need to go. A hearty thank you to all the good folks at Erb, and to brilliant, beautiful and kind librarian/author Nancy Runstedler for making the connection for us.
The big day is October 2nd, when more than 1200 books (the number is still climbing) will be delivered to Bunche School in Compton California. The library is going to be refurbished also as part of Access Books' ongoing projects, so we are, getting Maximum Bang for our Looney.
So far, four authors from Canada will be participating in the Oct 2 event - painting, sorting and presenting. We were soo lucky to received donated air miles to cover some of our flights from Toronto to LA- I'm going to check if the donors would rather be anonymous before I give them a loud shout out here, but please know how grateful we are for your assistance!!!! I'll provide more details on who's going and what we'll be doing when we get there as they firm up.
If you are in the LA area, please SIGN UP to participate in the event! We need hands and hearts to sort catalogue and shelve books, as well as to paint a fun mural on the library walls to delight and inspire the kids. LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED (That was the deal breaker for me - no lunchy, no worky :) )
For more info about Access Books, check out this video:
The ERB Group has given us an ultra-sweet deal on freight so we can afford to get the books were they need to go. A hearty thank you to all the good folks at Erb, and to brilliant, beautiful and kind librarian/author Nancy Runstedler for making the connection for us.
The big day is October 2nd, when more than 1200 books (the number is still climbing) will be delivered to Bunche School in Compton California. The library is going to be refurbished also as part of Access Books' ongoing projects, so we are, getting Maximum Bang for our Looney.
So far, four authors from Canada will be participating in the Oct 2 event - painting, sorting and presenting. We were soo lucky to received donated air miles to cover some of our flights from Toronto to LA- I'm going to check if the donors would rather be anonymous before I give them a loud shout out here, but please know how grateful we are for your assistance!!!! I'll provide more details on who's going and what we'll be doing when we get there as they firm up.
If you are in the LA area, please SIGN UP to participate in the event! We need hands and hearts to sort catalogue and shelve books, as well as to paint a fun mural on the library walls to delight and inspire the kids. LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED (That was the deal breaker for me - no lunchy, no worky :) )
For more info about Access Books, check out this video:
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