Stories, Culture Gap, Pop-Culture

Writing Stories (3:42) Stories exist all around us. Sometimes, you just have to keep your eyes open in order to find them. Today we’re on the phone with author Frieda Wishinsky. Frieda grew up in New York with and graduated with a degree in International Relations. She has written many children's books and educational books like Oonga Boonga, Each One Special, and Please Louise. Storytime (16:18) Libraries are known for their storytimes and we are too. Each week at around 15 minutes past the hour, tune in to hear book reviews or live readings of books or poetry. All month we will be reading segments from Charles Dickens' Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol. This week, join the jolly Ghost of Christmas Present as he teaches Scrooge an important lesson. Culture Gap (20:28) Different cultures around the world have various levels of literacy. Some have more books than others, some have access to pens, paper, and pencils, and others don’t. By learning about other cultures and how they live, we can find ways that we can help them to gain certain resources to aid with their literacy. Margaret Blair Young is a published author and advocate for cross-cultural understanding. Pop-Culture (35:24) Pop-culture has an influence on children, so why not make it a positive one. Illya Kowalchuk is the Director of Education at the Pop Culture Classroom, a program that works to accomplish this. They use video games and comic books to connect with children and teach bigger topics of cultural awareness. Illya Kowalchuk hails from Long Island and earned a BA in History, a K-6 Teaching Certification, and a Masters of Education. Giving Books as Gifts (47:38) Today we are around the Librarians' Table with published author Ann Cannon and book reviewer Margaret Neville, both of the King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City. They give some Christmas book recommendations and talk about how books make great gifts for the holidays.