By Maggie Hartman The best way to experience a beautiful children’s book (like Dreamers) is with actual children. This past week, 800 local elementary students came to an event hosted by The Big Read Lakeshore that included a presentation by StrikeTime Dance Company and a talk by the author of the Little Read book Dreamers, …
Continue reading “Event Recaps: Author Visit with Yuyi Morales”
In order to answer this question of “why study the classics,” first we must define “the classics.” Wai Chee Dimock, English professor at Yale University, states in her article for The New York Times, “classics are classics because we aren’t done with them yet,” or to put it another way, classics are classics because they …
By Nellie Wilcox On Monday, November 20, Lynda Blackmon Lowery presented at Hope College, and she started her lecture with a story. In a dark crowded cell, meant for a total of two, packed with over fifty girls’ bodies, among the crying, hugging, and fear, an alto voice sings, “We will overcome.” Her tale is …
Continue reading “Power in Sharing Stories: the Lynda Lowery Lecture”
Andrew Silagi: On Tuesday, November 14, author and illustrator Jerry Craft spoke at Hope College in front of hundreds of students. It was a joy to hear the students cry out at Craft’s mention of a time before there was internet and watch with wide eyes how he turned a bunch of seemingly random shapes …
Continue reading “Reflections on Jerry Craft’s Middle School Event”
By Kelsey Sivertson What’s the origin of your last name? I like this question. It’s a good icebreaker when getting to know new friends over a cinnamon roll for the table on a warm fall Saturday afternoon. I learned about one friend’s annual pesto parties where her extended family gathers to make fresh pesto and pasta …
Continue reading “Thoughts on Home and Yaa Gyasi’s Book Talk”
