Global Read Aloud

Global Read Aloud with Padma Venkatraman

by JG Annino 

Hello this lovely Wednesday in June. We become world travelers today,
whether the trip is by story or through seagoing or air-riding.
The Global Read Aloud & one of its 2019 authors,
Padma Venkatraman  take us out into the larger community.

Do you see the kids running across a bridge on the cover, above?
They won my heart & they broke it, so many times.
Such is the power of this story, a singular MG novel about unfortunate
children. It is unusual in the way the street-living children appear naturally
with their full humanity, including humor, creativity, joy & deep intelligence.
I also love how they question each other about Faith & their various beliefs
in the goodness of people.

This month the two girls, a younger sister & an older sister & two boys who aren't
related except through the community of life on the streets,  are
front and center characters
at the annual American Library Association meeting, in Washington, D.C.

These kid characters mesmerized me and they are deservedly here there
everywhere in reading groups, classrooms, home study programs
& award considerations. 

Readers in Global Read Aloud, whether they choose one of several listed
picture books or YA,  or THE BRIDGE HOME, or FRONT DESK by Kelly Yang
(see below) connect with other young readers in creative & deep ways,
to exchange ideas about Story.
Checking out the Global Read Aloud Facebook page I found that after
summer recess, classrooms from South Africa
to North Carolina are lined up to participate with their thoughts on
THE BRIDGE HOME, as is the lucky class of Group Blog's
own Patricia Toht - who told me about this neat connection.

Some children will have a jump start at the book before school resumes
if their families are TV watchers, because
a parents Super Summer list from the popular TODAY show
gave THE BRIDGE HOME a groovy shout-out.

The creator of of Global Read Aloud has been called
out as a cool teacher by Scholastic:

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/cool-teacher-pernille-ripp/

Here is the Global Read Aloud website:

https://theglobalreadaloud.com/for-participants/contenders/2019-contenders/

Here is a School Library Journal article about GRA by Kara Yorio.

                               Who is the author of THE BRIDGE HOME?

                                                     photo: Highlights Foundation
                                                     Author Padma Venkatraman

Padma Venkatram, Ph.D. worked as a scientist-oceanographer,
sailing world seas researching with and directing scientists onboard
research vessels.
She left her native India, where all of her novels are set, for the UK &
later for the USA East Coast, where she lives with her young family.

She is a popular mentor at reading & writing conferences,  in the USA
& outside the country.

THE BRIDGE HOME follows four characters who form bonds during

difficult times, as children living on the streets of Chennai,
(once known as Madras,) a coastal tourism area of India.

The characters are multi-dimensional, seen as complete
feeling thinking doing youngsters.

Tears may flow during tragic scenes - they did for me -
but because of the author's skillful framing of the story,
the reader is left with great hope.

For more on Padma Venkatraman, here is a lengthy recent Q/A interview
where she discusses craft, research, family & how characters stick
with her, among reader-friendly, writer-friendly, topics.

If your reading days are more often spent among 
Picture Books or Early Readers
you will also want to know that
the talented & prolific artist/ author 
amazing Yuyi Morales
is the 2019 Global Read Aloud picture book author.

And the Early Reader Author is Angela Dominguez, who is new to me,
which is part of what this global connection is all about - finding
books & authors new to you &
outside the place or culture in which you or your students/family/friends,
formed.
At Global Read Aloud,
alongside THE BRIDGE HOME by Padma Venkatraman,
please meet
(if you don't already know her p.b Where's Broccoli?)
the awesome Kelly Yang, with FRONT DESK, who is knew to me.
Kelly's poignant story is inspired on her immigrant family life as a child.
If I were a school, I would select each of these MG stories - THE BRIDGE HOME &
FRONT DESK.
We will be reading & hearing much about each of the Global Read Aloud Authors
for many years to come. 

A 2016 Highlights Foundation verse novel workshop brought my opportunity
to meet Padma (& other generous souls - bookstore maven Joanne Fritz, in particular,
who wrote the article linked to, just above.)
Padma asked me probing questions about my abolitionist-topic novel manuscript,
which is no where near revised enough,
but I'm glad we have stayed in touch on other topics.

                  Highlights Foundation - Padma Venkatraman,  Jan Godown Annino

FLASHLIGHT NIGHT

FLASHLIGHT NIGHT: Rhyming picture book to take out to the tree house

FLASHLIGHT NIGHT

by Matt Forrest Essenwine with artwork by Fred Koehler

Suppose that I want to write a friendship

picture book adventure.

It will come alive through three important elements.

 Let's say these are -

backyard

flashlight

tree house

And to up the stakes for me as a writer,

let's say I'll pull it off in rhyme.

Beautiful rhyme. Not just rhyme for when you play word games at home.

You know what I mean. The beautiful quality of
the low percent of submitted rhymed manuscripts that can become traditionally published

Hmmm.

I hope you'll sit down soon with the rhyming picture book, FLASHLIGHT NIGHT.

The text is by debut picture book author Matt Forrest Essenwine

& the art is from the well-known award-winning creator, Fred Koehler.

This is a poem story alive with the promise

of high adventure unfolding

in the sedate backyard tree house. The friends 

flash the light to discover that it:

Shines a path where waters rush

reveals a hole in the underbrush

Oh my gosh! What's next? Don't 'cha wanna know!!!

The illustrations by Fred Koehler are like a nocturne gallery. 
The nightshade from scene to scene heightens the child’s delight in overlooked 
but important clues. I went back to look at them up close, as soon as

I read this book about the adventures & friendship of a girl and two boys. 

To celebrate publication, the two creators agreed to tell me something about their childhoods.

MATT FORREST ESSENWINE

“Hi, thank you for doing a post, Jan! I really appreciate that.”

                                   (The book deserves a lot of spotlight, Matt.- jga)

“Growing up in rural New Hampshire, I developed an appreciation for nature from a young age.

 We lived on 10 acres of mostly wooded property, and although I was not allowed to go 
deep into the woods, the woods were all around me and therefore afforded me a great 
opportunity to use my imagination.

"I never had a tree house as a child, but I did have something I called my “hideout,”
which was an area just off of our lawn that consisted of lots of large, flat stones, thick juniper bushes, 
and a couple of large, easily-climbed trees. Some days I would pretend I was a bad guy 
hiding from the law, while other days I was the good guy trying to track down the baddies.

My hideout was also my “secret” place to have lunch. Mom would give me my food 
and I would head out to one of the flat rocks there and eat underneath the tree. 
And even though this little area was right along the edge of the lawn and only 
15 feet or so away from the road, I felt like I was in my own little world!

"I suppose it is no wonder, then, that the natural world and my sense of family have
 played such crucial roles in my writing, both for adults as well as for children. 
I am fortunate that dad has not sold the place yet – at 82, he still lives on that same 
old dirt road surrounded by woods – but I know that a not-so-little piece of me 
will be lost the day he does.”

                      (This paints an evocative picture, Matt. And so great about your Dad. – jga)

I first encountered Matt’s work via the Poetry Friday crowd.

I anticipate Matt’s poems & stories to appear in many forthcoming picture  books. In fact,
his second picture book, which he co-authors, is due out in April.

Go visit him here.

FRED KOEHLER

“When I was a kid, our house backed up to an acre or two of Florida scrub. 

Through the woods, I had neighbors whose dad worked construction and 

brought home all the scraps of job site lumber. In those trees, we would build 

the most elaborate fort systems, with tight ropes lines between the trees, trap doors, 

and even underground bunkers. We had more fun than any other kids on the planet, 

and probably could fend off pirates better than the Swiss Family Robinson.”

             (I see the foundations of an artist’s mind in those constructions, Fred.

                                                      Thank you! – jga)

I first encountered Fred's talented work in the hilarious, minimalist-word story by 

poet Rebecca Kai Dotlich,  ONE DAY, THE END.  

This year I anticipate Fred’s Pacific garbage patch-set debut novel.

lVisit his site & online gallery.

Also, travel along as KidLitTV reveals, via a talk with Rocco Staino, 

how Fred helped develop this book’s evocative nightscape.

I ordered FLASHLIGHT NIGHT from my local indy, Midtown Reader.

My child days hideout memories include a tree seat my father nailed into one of our beautiful,

old dogwood trees, so I could read up there, undisturbed & also, the creek ravine woods that 

beckoned me not far from that tree. Earlier, at our first house, I loved the fresh-scented,

old pine fairy woods. It rose up dark green on damp dirt on the side of our house that was 

opposite from the neighbor's aromatic dairy farm. 

Readers of the Group Blog: good luck with all your rhymes, especially the picture book kind. - JG Annino