Posts tagged Redwall
Sheer Bookwormery
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Flashback Friday:
When I was in 8th grade, I was given permission to skip school to go meet my hero Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series. He did a wonderful reading and spent time signing books and talking to his young fans (like 12-year-old me, pictured above).
When I asked him what advice he might have for a young writer, he told me to “always remember to paint a picture with words.” Best skip day ever.
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Lunch Bunch Book Club
Now that summer reading has come to a close and our dear youngsters are all back at school, my library is shifting gears and getting ready for fall programs. I am lucky enough to be part of a brand new initiative with the public schools called Lunch Bunch.
Basically, we public librarians are trying to encourage kids to read purely for fun, and to that end we’re establishing monthly book clubs at some of our elementary schools. The 5th grade participants bring their lunches, and we bring dessert, activities, and books to share with them. Each month, we’ll offer up literary suggestions to our students, who will vote on which book they want to talk about next time, and our goal is to pick fun and diverse titles that will have high appeal factors to boys and girls alike.
Some of the books that I’m hoping to do with them this year (pending approval) are:
- The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
- Redwall, by Brian Jacques
- Savvy, by Ingrid Law
- Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen
- When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead
- Countdown, by Deborah Wiles
- The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling, by Maryrose Wood
As the school year progresses, I’ll post about my experiences with this pilot program. I’m hoping that it will be a fun and rewarding experience for me and my students and I am very excited to begin. Have you ever created or participated a program like this before? What worked for you? What were your favorite books or activities to do?
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Book Challenge: Day 21
Day 21 - Favorite book from your childhood
I would have to go with Redwall, by Brian Jacques. When I was very young, my father read a chapter to me every night before bed. I ate up every minute of the adventurous and marvelous tale, begging for juuuust one more chapter. We worked our way through Mossflower and Mattimeo as well, until I grew older, I began to read the rest of the series on my own.
Brian Jacques recently passed away, and I checked out the audio book of Redwall from my library to share with my husband, who had never even heard of the series. Now we make excuses to go driving just so we can listen to to another part of the story, which is narrated by the author and a full cast of characters.
I’m hooked all over again.
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So here is my story, may it bring
Some smiles and a tear or so,
It happened once upon a time,
Far away, and long ago,
Outside the night wind keens and wails,
Come listen to me, the Teller of Tales!
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When I was very young, my father began to read the Redwall series to me. Chapter by chapter, night by night, we worked our way through them, delighting in the stories and the brave characters. When I was older, I began to read them for myself, and the magic of the stories was still as strong as ever. I still buy the newest addition to the series every year, and have a full shelf dedicated to them in my personal library.
Brian Jacques was one of my earliest heroes, the type of brilliant author who made me a reader, who made me want to write too. One of the best days of my young life was the day that my parents let me skip school (!) to go see him at a book signing near Washington, DC. Listening to him laugh and talk and spin yarns was a revelation, and shyly telling him how much I loved his work while he signed my copy of The Legend of Luke was enough to make my heart race.
I asked him how I could be a better writer, too, and he smiled and told me to remember to always “paint a picture with my words.”
I’m so sad that there won’t be a new Redwall to add to my collection any more, but so grateful that I got to meet him and got to read so many of his wonderful tales.
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Don’t be ashamed to weep; ‘tis right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water. But there must be sunlight also. A wounded heart will heal in time, and when it does, the memory and love of our lost ones is sealed inside to comfort us
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Maid of Redwall, search and never give up hope. You will find joy, frustration and sorrow in your quest. Never forget that friendship and loyalty are more precious than riches. Remember these words on the day you must return the Tears to their true owner. Happiness can be brief, but it knows no time in the land of dreams.
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Rest In Peace, Brian Jacques
Brian Jacques was easily my favorite author when I was a child—he was the kind of writer that made me desperately want to write myself. The Redwall series still holds up as a set of classics, and one that I want my future children to read someday.
His literary talent will be missed.
