Mighty Song of the Day
December 14th, 2009“The Graphic Novel Is Booming,” Says Nat’l Ambassador of Young People’s Literature
December 12th, 2009
The first national ambassador of young people’s literature reports that the world of children’s books is “rocking.”
Author Jon Scieszka, the literature ambassador and the author of “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs!,” estimates that Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series and Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” books got 49,323,701 kids reading this year.
Scieszka says “just looking at pictures” used to be considered cheating. No longer. “The graphic novel is booming,” he reports. “Comics, heavily illustrated texts, books with no words are now accepted as reading. The ambassador approves. Graphic storytelling is a great way to help kids get started reading. It’s also a powerful artistic form in its own right.
“Françoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman have started publishing high-quality comics for kids at Toon Books. ‘Jack and the Box’ by Spiegelman, ‘Little Mouse Gets Ready’ by Jeff Smith (see also: his amazing ‘Bone’ series) and ‘Stinky’ by Eleanor Davis are inspiring kids to become savvy visual readers.”
Scieszka’s full report on the state of young people’s literature was just published in the LA Times here.
Snaps from Jeremiah Trotter’s Visit to Mighty Writers
December 11th, 2009
As previously reported here, Jeremiah Trotter, the four-time Pro Bowl star of the Philadelphia Eagles, was interviewed by Annette John Hall’s sportswriting students at Mighty Writers this week. These are photos from that session.
Photos/Kathleen Foley
Mighty Song of the Day
December 10th, 2009Best Magazine Covers of ’09
December 10th, 2009
Time magazine named Madoff-as-Joker
the best magazine cover of ’09…
… this moody NYC streetscene second best…
… and this cowboy hat third best.
Personally, we’d pick number two as number one. But that’s just us.
Mighty Song of the Day
December 10th, 2009Asian Students Air Grievances
December 9th, 2009
The ongoing issue of violence at South Philadelphia High School was addressed Wednesday afternoon in a School Reform Commission meeting before an overflow crowd of largely Asian students and community members in the school district’s Broad Street headquarters.
Prior to the meeting it was requested that the media not take pictures that show student faces for fear of retribution.
Though some of the fire from Asian students and community leaders was directed at African American students and the perpetrators, the real cannon fire was aimed directly at South Philadelphia High administrators and the district itself.
A number of speakers emphasized that the violence wasn’t an isolated incident and that Asian leaders have been telling teachers and administrators about the intimidation tactics by some students in the school for years.
“Transferring is the only way to protect children,” said one speaker, before adding that similar violence goes on in other city schools.
The tenor of the speeches ranged from anger to fear to sorrow.
“I hope somebody will put more care into us,” said one South Philadelphia High student leader.
Update: South Phila. H.S. staff mocked Asians. Inquirer.
Ackerman’s remedies. The Notebook.
Mighty Writers is conducting a series of writing workshops called “Sticks, Stones and Bones” for Asian and African American students. The first session is scheduled for this weekend. A report in this space will follow.
