As a public school teacher, I am distinctly aware of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and its various incarnations, including Goals 2000 and No Child Left Behind.  As an avid reader and formerly low-income elementary school student, I was a direct beneficiary of the Reading Is Fundamental program.  I believe I still have the books I got from them.  At a time when my family could not afford new books and we rarely had time to go to the library, RIF provided new reading material for me.

Here is a message/press release from the president and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental:

President Bush Eliminates Funding for Reading Is Fundamental’s Historic Book Distribution Program Serving 4.6 Million Children

Statement from Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO, of Reading Is Fundamental

"President Bush’s proposed budget calling for the elimination of Reading Is Fundamental’s (RIF) Inexpensive Book Distribution program would be devastating to the 4.6 million children and their families who receive free books and reading encouragement from RIF programs at nearly 20,000 locations throughout the U.S.

“Unless Congress reinstates $25.5 million in funding for this program, RIF would not be able to distribute 16 million books annually to the nation’s youngest and most at-risk children. RIF programs in schools, childcare centers, migrant programs, military bases, and other locations serve children from low-income families, children with disabilities, foster and homeless children, and children without access to libraries.  The Inexpensive Book Distribution program is authorized under the Elementary & Secondary Education Act (SEC.5451 Inexpensive Book Distribution Program for Reading Motivation) and is not funded through earmarks. It has been funded by Congress and six Administrations without interruption since 1975.

“Since its founding in 1966, RIF’s programs have played an important role in improving literacy in this country.  The U.S. Department of Education has shown that the number of books in a child’s home is a significant predictor of academic achievement. In addition, RIF programs also support academic achievement by involving hundreds of thousands of volunteers and other caring adults in encouraging children to read for fun. We urge all Americans to contact their Congressional representatives and ask them to reinstate funding for this important program.” 

 

Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF), founded in 1966, motivates children to read by working with them, their parents, and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. RIF’s highest priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8. Through community volunteers in every state and U.S. territory, RIF provides 4.6 million children with 15 million new, free books and literacy resources each year. For more information and to access reading resources, visit RIF’s website at www.rif.org.

 Discover the Joy!

For more information, contact:
Layla Wright-Contreras,
Media Relations Manager
202-536-3528
lwright@rif.org

TO TAKE ACTION, CLICK HERE AND WRITE THE PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, AND YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS.

Hello, litosphere.  Remember me?

As mentioned in my last post, I haven’t had the attention span for fiction of late.  And I picked up Vale of the Vole from the library, and promptly set it down somewhere that will require me to look for it before I can find it.  So yesterday at the library, I roamed the YA shelves and picked up Tanith Lee’s Indigara.  Then I went over to the JF section and picked up The Princess Diaries.  I looked at a lot of books, and if the first paragraph didn’t capture my attention, I knew now was not the time for that book.  So, I’ll start with these and see how I do.  I’ve no set reading goal for this year.

The other day in Target I picked up The Lightning Thief, and was enthralled by the first little bit.  But I decided to get it from the library rather than buy it.  It’s such a popular book, of course, that there’s a waiting list.  So I’m on that.  And once I read that I can get cracking on in media res, my site devoted to the classics in modern media.  The first focus will be on the Olympians, so I’ll include the Percy Jackson series, the God of War video games, and I’ll try to find a movie or two as well.  Right now I’m having trouble because all the movies I can think of that involve Olympians are better suited to a Heroes unit.  So if you have any suggestions, let me know.

I’ve realized that I need to get back to the purpose of this blog, if I’m going to maintain it.  And in my Writing Blogs post, I stated that this blog was “a place to keep track of my own musings on reading."  So that’s what it will be, when I post.  And sometimes I might participate in multi-blog events, and sometimes I might write formal reviews.  But generally, it’s just going to be a journal.

Last year I wanted to write a review of every book I read, and I only failed to do that for 9 of them.  Pretty good, really.  There are a few that I should write reviews for because I specifically requested them from publishers and/or authors, and I’ll fit those in once I get some momentum going.   But for now, it has to be about what captures my imagination, or it won’t happen at all.

I have been out and about.  I haven't had the attention span for fiction in weeks.  So I've been reading non-fiction.  I recently finished Craft, Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco.  I'm reading The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine by Rozsika Parker.

I think to get me out of my refusing-to-read-fiction rut I need something familiar, but still new enough to maintain my interest.  I prescribe Piers Anthony: Vale of the Vole.  Just requested it from the library.

Over at Becky’s Book Reviews, Becky is hosting the Celebrate the Author Challenge.   The basic idea is that each month of 2008, you read a book by an author born in that month.  Go to the post I linked earlier for more details.

Here’s my tentative author list:
January - Lloyd Alexander (hopefully ALL of the Vesper Holly series)
February - Meg Cabot
March - Libba Bray
April - Micol Ostow
May - Scott Westerfeld
June - Annette Curtis Klause
July - Christopher Golden (born the day after me but a few years earlier)
August - Piers Anthony
September - Melissa de la Cruz
October - Gabrielle Zevin
November - Holly Black
December - Stephanie Meyer

I found this through a quick googling:

There weren’t any chimneys, but that caused no gloom,
for Santa came in through the Florida room.
He stopped at each house….stayed only a minute,
emptying his sack of stuff that was in it.

Before he departed, he treated himself
to a glass of papaya juice upon the shelf.
He turned with a jerk and bounced to the car,
remembering he still had to go very far.

You can read the whole poem here. 

Most people think Christmas requires cold and snow, but for me a temperature of no lower than 60 degrees seems just about right.

One year, the thing I wanted the very most for Christmas was a navel orange.  Santa brought me one, and it was the most beautiful orange ever.  I refused to eat it, it was so beautiful.

It molded.  That was less pretty.

Still, I fondly recall my Christmas orange.

2008 is The Year of Ambition for me.  I am going to take my dreams of various sorts and see what I can do to make them become reality.

One project I've had rolling around in my brain for three or four years now is a blog/website devoted to portrayals of the ancient Mediterranean in modern media.  My favorite part of teaching Latin is helping students make connections between the ancient world and the modern world, and I lovelovelove taking part in movies, books, video games, and music that reference the ancient world.  So I've wanted for a long time to bring that interest online.

I've set up a blog for this purpose and titled it in media res.  I thought it was a clever pun.  Here's the mission statement for the blog:

In a numbered list, no less!

1. My reading goal for the year was 30 books.  I’ve already surpassed that, if audio books count, and am at 34 right now.
2. Today I bought Twilight as my airplane book for my Saturday trip to Florida.  (I’ll be there a little less than a week.)  Thanks to everyone who expressed opinions on it and other books.  I’ve been meaning to read it a while now, and the library wait is quite long, and it was just looking at me there on the shelf in Target at $2 off cover, so, now it is mine.
3. Re: Last week’s bad day - it was mainly because of a sinus infection I was developing, which today was diagnosed and antibioticized.  So in a few days I should be having much better days, both because the sinus infection will be clearing up, and I’ll be on vacation in the best state in the union.  i. e., Florida.  The Sunshine Except For That Thunderstorm At 3 PM State.  Thanks for all the bad day book recommendations.  I think I ended up just getting in bed, sadly.

I’m having a bad day.  What do you like to read when you’re having a bad day? 

It's a Theatrey weekend for me. Tonight I'm going to see The Little Prince, and then tomorrow it's Damn Yankees. I thought in honor of the festivities I'd post some theatre-related poetry. I googled "theatre poetry," and it gave me Poetry Theatre:

Our mission is to continue the oral tradition utilizing modern technology. Poetry Theatre presents actors performing their favorite poems, a glossary of terms and a biography of the poet. Its website gives poetry to everyone to inspire, to enjoy and to learn. 

I don't have time to explore the site now, but it's exciting, isn't it?  And Tandy Cronyn is the artistic director.  I had the privilege of seeing her star in Wit.  She was phenomenal.  (And brought Hume Cronyn around the theatre; the boyf got to meet him but had no sense of the magnitude of the event.)

From their selections, I chose one by one of my favorite poets, John Donne.  (I'm actually in the process of writing a John Donne cento as a gift for aforementioned boyfriend.)

GO and catch a falling star
by John Donne

GO and catch a falling star,
   Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
   Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
   Or to keep off envy's stinging,
            And find
            What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.

If thou be'st born to strange sights,
   Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
   Till age snow white hairs on thee,
Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me,
All strange wonders that befell thee,
            And swear,
            No where
Lives a woman true and fair.

If thou find'st one, let me know,
   Such a pilgrimage were sweet;
Yet do not, I would not go,
   Though at next door we might meet,
Though she were true, when you met her,
And last, till you write your letter,
            Yet she
            Will be
False, ere I come, to two, or three.

It’s been more than a couple of weeks since I last posted.  I’ve been in a non-litty headspace.  But after a conversation with the boyf today about what I do and don’t like, and what is and is not important to me, I may be ready to come back.

Today I was discussing with my students what things were “Roman” pursuits and what things were “Greek” pursuits.  We’ve been reading about this in their text.  We reviewed the “Roman” activities: building roads and bridges; farming; fighting wars.  The students agreed that these were “physical” pursuits, “work."  We then reviewed the “Greek” activities: sculpting, painting, reading.  I said, “And what kind of activities are these?"  I was thinking “intellectual” here, as that’s what folks generally oppose to the physical.

Their response?  “Boring." That just made me sad.  After further discussion, I realized that the students know being able to read is important; they simply didn’t value it as a leisure pursuit.

Of course, that’s just one class.  In a different class, we could have booktalks just about every day.  They’re almost all heavy readers in that class.  At any given time, at least a third of the class has a novel to pull out in case of free time.  So that was reassuring.

So, yeah.  Reading is important.  I get it, universe.  I’m with you.

I just finished reading The Golden Compass.  What have you been reading?

…

The other pursuit that takes up my time and often keeps me away from the kidlitosphere is craft.  My preferred craft is crochet, though I love to read about others.  Fortunately, a relatively new blog has united these two realms.  Children’s Lit ’n Knit is written by Shelly Hattan, an engineer, knitter, and reader.  Shelly’s lit-knit began with a Captain Underpants she made for her nephew, and has continued with various other suggestions.  She’s soliciting ideas for the blog, so if you’ve got a brilliant idea for a toy/book pairing, drop her a line!  My favorite entry is Where the Wild Things Are.  I am all about crowns and cat hats.

…

See you soon, I hope!