So, I’ve been pondering jumping in the kid lit review game. I joined the Yahoo group, and now I need to come up with a website name.
Ideas?
Category Archives: Storytime!
Still high
I’m still glowing over yesterday’s storytime. I’ve vowed to buy a personal copy of The Lorax, so I can have it at the ready.
As I was biking to work this morning, I was remembering how awesome it was to throw together an opportunity, a solid story, and a really important lesson and make librarical magic. I was thinking about how great it would be if I could perform stories like this at a moment’s notice, maybe with a few finger puppets I keep in my bag, or a series of tattoos.
Then I remembered Richard’s idea of StoryMob. During our storytelling class in grad school, we had just finished a round of really stellar stories (and we were kind of high, like the children’s high I’m still on) and Richard had the idea of going out to the quad (open area at the University of Illinois) and running up to a group of lounging undergrads and telling them a story or two. The idea morphed into a guerrilla story performance crew.
I think at that point we went out for beers, and the idea was made into a Facebook group. It lingers there, and I know the UIllinois crew is working on it, but I’m wondering what I can do from here. Perhaps we need a site where we can submit stories, be they written, audio, or video. I’d totally record video of me accosting a group of children and making them happy. Maybe old people too.
The Trees Fight Back
From one of my favorite comics, The Perry Bible Fellowship:
I was always weirded out by the original. I understand the analogy to be that of a caring adult – ready to give the shirt off their back to make the next generation happier. I think that paradigm is outdated.
Kids are assholes with cell phones. With all the baby boomers, you’d think the we could rewrite the story. You come to the tree, it talks to you, it gives you some apples, you leave with the apples, then you come back and mulch it, then spray for tent worms.
Best idea ever.
I really want to use the song “The Salmon Dance” from the newest Chemical Brothers album … for storytime.
Put your hands to the side, as silly as it seems,
And shake your body like a salmon floatin’ up stream!
All my peeps spend part of their life in fresh water
And part of their life in salt water.
I mean, how great is that? I guess the part about spawning and dying isn’t real appropriate. Neither is
When I first did the Salmon all the people just laughed
They looked around and stood like I was on crack
I heard somebody say out loud what the fuck is that
This nigga’s dancin like a fish while he’s doin’ the snap.
And that’s why I write the impulsive things I think on my blog, instead of trying them out on unsuspecting kids and parents.