WRAD: A Dose of Shel Silverstein

Happy World Read Aloud Day!

Take Action for Global Literacy, Celebrate the Power of Words, Change the World

Worldwide at least 793 million people remain illiterate.

Imagine a world where everyone can read...

World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.

By raising our voices together on this day we show the world’s children that we support their future: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their words to change the world.

It’s time to join the Global Literacy Movement.

For the WRAD, I'll be reading some poems by Shel Silverstein. He's one of the few foreign poets I know who can keep me awake for a good number of poems. You know that it's a Silverstein poem if

• it makes you smile, laugh, guffaw
• it makes you chant or sing the poem
• it inspires you to share the poem to your friends and if
• it is paired with an equally exquisite illustration

Geez! I hope there are more Shel Silversteins in the world.

Today, I'll be reading and rereading poems from 

My personal favorites are

• Ickle Me, Pickle Me and Tickle Me Too and
• Melinda Mae

Again, Happy World Read Aloud Day!

EDR 221 and All That Jazz

Our EDR 221(Literature-based Reading Program) class sustains my gusto for children’s literature.

Because of this class I have read books for kids, blog entries and news updates related to children's literature, author blogs and (comment) threads of discussions regarding children's literature. Then I realized that IT has engulfed a large portion of my heart (and budget). Our class has proven again that I am made to love IT. I have come to the point of no return.

National Children's Book Day 2011

Now I plan to live up to the unwritten expectations I have set for myself that circle on sharing my love for children's literature because nothing compares to the joy of 'being changed' as you flip, peruse and devour the pages of a book. I also plan to be a more dedicated children's book enthusiast by taking part in literacy campaigns and by balancing the genres of my children's book collection.

However, I still wonder if I have the needed skills to come up with a convincing literature-based reading program that I could (and should) present to my superiors. I also wonder if I could make the reading-writing connection happen in me. Do I have what it takes to become a writer for children too? Or should I just remain an enthusiast, a collector, a reader and advocate of children’s literature?

Nevertheless, I feel honoured and challenged at the same time when people compliment my zest for children's literature. Children’s literature has enabled me to do things I’ve never imagined before. I always show off my newly-autographed books to my pupils, co-teachers and friends.

Priceless.

 I celebrate over brief Facebook conversations and exchanges of ideas with my favourite authors. I’ve become a Booksale denizen. I’ve become a teacher who does book talks on a weekly basis. Sometimes, I label myself as a ‘professional’ stalker of children’s literature personalities--authors, illustrators, bloggers, advocates and the books themselves.

It may sound like a cliché, but children’s literature has made my life more colourful, more exciting and more worth-living.