Worlds Awaiting

Real People (3:51)

Real stories – real lives – real people. We often meet them in biographies. Perhaps we’re inspired by their examples to move through our own hard times. Individuals who are seemingly ordinary, but accomplish extraordinary things. Today, Jessica Verzello of the Worlds Awaiting team, visits with children’s book author, Jen Bryant, who often writes about such real and inspiring people – some we’ve heard about, others, not. Jen shares how she chooses the people to spotlight in her books. They often find her, she says, or she comes upon them accidentally. Bryant is an award-winning author of picture books, novels and poems for readers of all ages. Her books include The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus; A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams; The Trial (1935 Lindbergh kidnapping trial), and Georgia’s Bones (celebrating the life of artist Georgia O’Keeffe). Jen Bryant has taught writing and Children’s Literature at West Chester University and Bryn Mawr College and gives school and public lectures throughout the year.

Victorian Periodicals (13:42)

Up next, Rachel Wadham talks with Jamie Horrocks, BYU English Professor, an expert in Victorian literature and culture, who focuses on Victorian Children’s Periodicals. These periodicals were forerunners of today’s magazines that serialize stories in sequential editions. Jamie Horrocks researches Victorian aesthetics and the intersection of literature and art, especially in the late nineteenth century. She has published on Oscar Wilde, Vernon Lee, Virginia Woolf, and the Aesthetic Movement.

Book Review (24:57)

We finish up the show with a book review from Joella Peterson, Children’s Services Manager at the Provo City Library. She introduces a picture book entitled The Princess and the Warrior written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh.

Combining Arts with Reading (3:47)

Learning to read involves a whole lot more than just words and letters. Here’s an obvious example – picture books. What child isn’t well-served, motivated, and inspired to learn to read with a few illustrations on the pages? Perhaps less-obvious, is this matter of pursuing literacy – and the support that can come from art, music, and dance. Today on Worlds Awaiting, Rachel Wadham visits with an enthusiastic advocate of combining art with a child’s growth towards literacy. Enrique Feldman is an Artist and Educator who specializes in approaches to literacy that incorporate music and movement. Feldman is the former professor of music and education at the University of Arizona, and was also Assistant Band Director at the University of Wisconsin.  Since, 2001, he has been a presenter of keynotes, workshops and coaching sessions for organizations of all types, with a special focus on learning. 

Song Breaker (15:02)

Next, Rachel talks with award-winning author, Annette Lyon about her new book, Song Breaker, based on a folk tale from the Finnish national epic poem, “Kalevala”. Annette Lyon is a USA Today bestselling author, a 5-time Best of State medalist for novels and short stories in Utah, and a Whitney Award winner. She’s had success as a professional editor in newspapers and magazines, as well as in technical writing. But her first love has always been writing fiction. Lyon has a degree in English from BYU and is author of over a dozen books, including Band of Sisters, a chocolate cookbook, a grammar guide and is one of the four co-authors of the Newport Ladies Book Club series.

Audio Books (23:39)

We finish up the show with Rob Sanders, BYU Radio Producer, who shares some thoughts about his love and enjoyment of audio books – a form that often makes reading more accessible.

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:03:47 - Combining Arts with Reading

00:15:02 - Song Breaker

00:23:39 - Audio Books

Combining Arts with Reading (3:47)

Learning to read involves a whole lot more than just words and letters. Here’s an obvious example – picture books. What child isn’t well-served, motivated, and inspired to learn to read with a few illustrations on the pages? Perhaps less-obvious, is this matter of pursuing literacy – and the support that can come from art, music, and dance. Today on Worlds Awaiting, Rachel Wadham visits with an enthusiastic advocate of combining art with a child’s growth towards literacy. Enrique Feldman is an Artist and Educator who specializes in approaches to literacy that incorporate music and movement. Feldman is the former professor of music and education at the University of Arizona, and was also Assistant Band Director at the University of Wisconsin.  Since, 2001, he has been a presenter of keynotes, workshops and coaching sessions for organizations of all types, with a special focus on learning. 

Song Breaker (15:02)

Next, Rachel talks with award-winning author, Annette Lyon about her new book, Song Breaker, based on a folk tale from the Finnish national epic poem, “Kalevala”. Annette Lyon is a USA Today bestselling author, a 5-time Best of State medalist for novels and short stories in Utah, and a Whitney Award winner. She’s had success as a professional editor in newspapers and magazines, as well as in technical writing. But her first love has always been writing fiction. Lyon has a degree in English from BYU and is author of over a dozen books, including Band of Sisters, a chocolate cookbook, a grammar guide and is one of the four co-authors of the Newport Ladies Book Club series.

 

Audio Books (23:39)

We finish up the show with Rob Sanders, BYU Radio Producer, who shares some thoughts about his love and enjoyment of audio books – a form that often makes reading more accessible.

Fostering Moral Literacy (4:09)

Rushing through life, not noticing others or not thinking about others—perhaps even ignoring their challenges or difficulties—we’re all guilty of this. Can we do better? What do we have that others lack? What have been our unearned privileges, and what privileges have been denied to others sometimes by fate, but also by social injustice? Our first guest today, Dr. Ramona Cutri, is passionate about society’s need for deeper reflection about what we see in the circumstances of others all around us. Adults who achieve a moral literacy can foster moral literacy in children. And the world awaiting all of us is rife with inequity and social disadvantage. Ramona Cutri is an associate professor of multicultural education at Brigham Young University, in the Department of Teacher Education. Today she speaks with Rachel about the need for this special category of human literacy, so important for both adults and children. 

Harry Potter (24:06)

Finally, Cole Wissinger of the Worlds Awaiting team talks with some students at BYU about everyone's favorite fictional wizard, Harry Potter.

Fostering Moral Literacy (4:09)

Rushing through life, not noticing others or not thinking about others—perhaps even ignoring their challenges or difficulties—we’re all guilty of this. Can we do better? What do we have that others lack? What have been our unearned privileges, and what privileges have been denied to others sometimes by fate, but also by social injustice? Our first guest today, Dr. Ramona Cutri, is passionate about society’s need for deeper reflection about what we see in the circumstances of others all around us. Adults who achieve a moral literacy can foster moral literacy in children. And the world awaiting all of us is rife with inequity and social disadvantage. Ramona Cutri is an associate professor of multicultural education at Brigham Young University, in the Department of Teacher Education. Today she speaks with Rachel about the need for this special category of human literacy, so important for both adults and children. 

 

Harry Potter (24:06)

Finally, Cole Wissinger of the Worlds Awaiting team talks with some students at BYU about everyone's favorite fictional wizard, Harry Potter.

Hanukkah (3:53)

What is the “Holiday Season”? Well, that depends entirely on where you live and the culture you come from. Where does Hanukkah fit in your life or culture, if it does at all? Known as the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah is observed for eight days and nights, sometime between late November to late December. Here on Worlds Awaiting we wouldn’t want to pass up the opportunity to talk about literacy as it relates to holidays. So, today, we’re focusing on children’s Hanukkah books. Our host, Rachel, talks with book expert Rachel Kamin, who shares some of her favorite titles dealing with inter-faith families, and how they celebrate their multiple faith traditions. They’ll also talk about ways that some Jewish families practice their Judaism in the wider world. Rachel Kamin is past chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee which recognizes the best Jewish Children’s books every year. She currently serves as the children and teen book review editor for the Association of Jewish Libraries.

We’ll also hear from Jessica Verzello, from the BYU Education and Juvenile Literature Library, who reviews a couple of children’s books that relate to Hanukkah – Jackie's Gift by Sharon Robinson (at 15:48) and Runaway Dreidel by Leslea Newman (at 26:06).

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:03:53 - Hanukkah

00:26:06 - (at 26:06)

Hanukkah (3:53)

What is the “Holiday Season”? Well, that depends entirely on where you live and the culture you come from. Where does Hanukkah fit in your life or culture, if it does at all? Known as the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah is observed for eight days and nights, sometime between late November to late December. Here on Worlds Awaiting we wouldn’t want to pass up the opportunity to talk about literacy as it relates to holidays. So, today, we’re focusing on children’s Hanukkah books. Our host, Rachel, talks with book expert Rachel Kamin, who shares some of her favorite titles dealing with inter-faith families, and how they celebrate their multiple faith traditions. They’ll also talk about ways that some Jewish families practice their Judaism in the wider world. Rachel Kamin is past chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee which recognizes the best Jewish Children’s books every year. She currently serves as the children and teen book review editor for the Association of Jewish Libraries.

 

We’ll also hear from Jessica Verzello, from the BYU Education and Juvenile Literature Library, who reviews a couple of children’s books that relate to Hanukkah – Jackie's Gift by Sharon Robinson (at 15:48) and Runaway Dreidel by Leslea Newman (at 26:06).

Summers in Cuba (4:08)

Childhood memories can be so vivid – a visit to grandma’s house, fishing with a cousin during summer vacation, maybe you actually roasted chestnuts on an open fire!   These experiences stay lodged in our minds our whole lives. Poet Margarita Engle knows this as well as anybody. She’s written a delightful picture book about her childhood visits with relatives every summer – in Havana! All the Way to Havana is the name of the book, and just to make sure the illustrator got things right, she sent him, an artist named Mike Curato, to stay with her relatives in Cuba, where he saw not only the city of Havana, but the countryside, too. Margarita Engle is the national Young People’s Poet Laureate, and, as a Cuban-American, is the first Latina to receive that honor. She’s a trained agronomist and botanist as well as a poet and novelist of award-winning books including The Surrender Tree, The Lightning Dreamer, Enchanted Air, and Drum Dream Girl.

Finding Books Kids Like (14:50)

Next Rachel talks with librarian Mark Pulham. They discuss the importance of helping children find books they’re actually going to stick with. How can we - as parents, teachers, and librarians – guide them to books and reading material with subjects that are of interest to them? Mark is a librarian and puppeteer at the Orem, Utah Public Library. He uses these talents, along with storytelling and acting, every year at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Lehi, Utah. Mark Pulham is also co-author of Dressing the Naked Hand: The World’s Greatest Guide to Making, Staging, and Performing with Puppets.

Shakespeare Reading (27:38)

We finish up the show with William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 that focuses on his “not-so-perfect” girlfriend.” Classical 89 announcer, Solomon Reynolds, shares the sonnet with us.

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:04:08 - Summers in Cuba

00:14:50 - Finding Books Kids Like

00:27:38 - Shakespeare Reading

Summers in Cuba (4:08)

Childhood memories can be so vivid – a visit to grandma’s house, fishing with a cousin during summer vacation, maybe you actually roasted chestnuts on an open fire!   These experiences stay lodged in our minds our whole lives. Poet Margarita Engle knows this as well as anybody. She’s written a delightful picture book about her childhood visits with relatives every summer – in Havana! All the Way to Havana is the name of the book, and just to make sure the illustrator got things right, she sent him, an artist named Mike Curato, to stay with her relatives in Cuba, where he saw not only the city of Havana, but the countryside, too. Margarita Engle is the national Young People’s Poet Laureate, and, as a Cuban-American, is the first Latina to receive that honor. She’s a trained agronomist and botanist as well as a poet and novelist of award-winning books including The Surrender Tree, The Lightning Dreamer, Enchanted Air, and Drum Dream Girl.

Finding Books Kids Like (14:50)

Next Rachel talks with librarian Mark Pulham. They discuss the importance of helping children find books they’re actually going to stick with. How can we - as parents, teachers, and librarians – guide them to books and reading material with subjects that are of interest to them? Mark is a librarian and puppeteer at the Orem, Utah Public Library. He uses these talents, along with storytelling and acting, every year at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Lehi, Utah. Mark Pulham is also co-author of Dressing the Naked Hand: The World’s Greatest Guide to Making, Staging, and Performing with Puppets.

 

Shakespeare Reading (27:38)

We finish up the show with William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 that focuses on his “not-so-perfect” girlfriend.” Classical 89 announcer, Solomon Reynolds, shares the sonnet with us.

Reading Aloud (3:55)

It’s no secret that grandparents dote on their grandchildren. But have you ever thought about doting in a way that can make a lasting difference – actually giving those youngsters a let up on life? Today we’ll hear from one grandfather who dotes with a purpose – and that purpose is literacy. Rachel talks to Brad Wilcox and his daughter Wendee about the way this plays out in their extended family. Brad Wilcox is a professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Brigham Young University. He’s lived in Utah, Ethiopia, and Chile, serving as an advocate for children and learning wherever he has gone. And Wendee Wilcox Rosborough, Brad’s daughter, is a mom and author.

History of Mystery (13:35)

Next, Rachel welcomes children’s and young adult literature expert, Karen Coats. They’ll discuss the history of mystery and detective fiction with special emphasis on this genre for children and young adults. Mysteries for children arrived on the scene much earlier than most of us realize. Coats is a professor of English at Illinois State University. She publishes widely on the many ways youth literature both responds to and shapes contemporary culture, as well as how it supports cognitive and emotional growth. She’s also author of multiple books on children’s literature including her newest book, The Bloomsbury Introduction to Children’s and Young Adult Literature.

Book Review (26:29)

We finish up the show with a book review from Ann-Marie Marchant, Adult and Teen Services Librarian at the Provo City Library in Utah. She introduces a Middle-Grade book entitled Vanished: True Tales of Mysterious Disappearances by Elizabeth MacLeod.

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:03:55 - Reading Aloud

00:13:35 - History of Mystery

00:26:29 - Book Review