Event: Library of the Early Mind 10/19

There's an event at the Grad School of Education about children's literature!

Premiere of Library of the Early Mind
Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 5:30 – 8pm

Location	13 Appian Way Cambridge, MA 02138
Type of Event	Discussion, Film, Forum, Question & Answer Session, Reception
Building/Room	Askwith Hall
Contact Name	Amber Haskins
Contact Email	askwith_forums@gse.harvard.edu
Contact Phone	617-384-9968
Sponsoring Organization/Department	Harvard Graduate School of Education
Registration Required	No

Premiere of Library of the Early Mind

Moderator: Lolly Robinson, adjunct lecturer, HGSE

Panelists: Filmmakers Edward Delaney and Steven Withrow; Roger Sutton, editor in chief of Horn Book Magazine; and children’s authors Lois Lowry, Lesléa Newman, Jerry Pinkney and Padma Venkatraman.

Library of the Early Mind is a documentary exploring the impact of children’s literature. A Q&A session, book signing and reception will follow the screening.

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/events/index.html#/?i=1

Read more about it here: http://libraryoftheearlymind.com/

Discuss: Which children's writer or book has had the most impact on your life?

Children's Books and Absent Parents

Earlier this summer, NPR interviewed YA author Lesley M. Blume, who shared her list of must-read children's books and, appropriately, her thoughts on children's stories that don't mention parents -- just like ours.

NPR writes, "Her book list includes a fair number of books about orphans, because, as Blume says, kids seem naturally drawn to stories in which the parents are absent: "Any child can relate to the fantasy of creating a kids-only utopia from scratch in the woods... This is something you see over and over again in classic literature and films. No rules, no baths, no schoolwork."

Find the list at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111776666 and see if some of your favorites made the cut!

Discuss: What would you have put on the list?

Summer in China

Summertime meant a vacation from school for most, but not a vacation from helping orphans in foreign countries.

Isabella Wechsler spent her summer volunteering in a special-needs orphanage in Jiaozuo, China.

She writes, "Working with the children there was probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Almost all of them have physical or mental disabilities of some form. Yet they handle difficult situations, and even the somewhat depressing conditions of their daily life, with such grace. They act genuinely excited when their friends "go to America", even though some of the older ones have slowly watched their friends leave them behind for years. I can't imagine having even half of their mental fortitude, and I am constantly amazed at their appreciation for the littlest things, like a page of stickers. In terms of the orphanage itself, it was pretty nice...since it's brand new and was built to represent the new "model" orphanage that...others are...to [follow]."

Isabella blogged about her experience. Follow these links to read more:

http://jiaozuosummer.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/the-forgotten-ones/

http://jiaozuosummer.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/finally-ive-caught-up/

http://jiaozuosummer.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/july-7-2010-and-previous-notes-on%C2%A0the%C2%A0side/

http://jiaozuosummer.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/july-6-2010/

http://jiaozuosummer.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/a-note-about-corporate%C2%A0sponsors/

Opportunity: Book Drive

From an email:

Harvard College Alliance for Africa is building a medical clinic in Madagascar over the summer.

Being a part of this project is simple: donate your old textbooks and books so that we can raise funds for the project. Fill out THIS FORM to participate.

We'll send out an email to let you know the date for pick-up. You can just leave the books outside your door and someone will come by take them off your hands!

Send any questions to andrian@fas.harvard.edu

Thanks!

Event: Reading & Conversation -- 4/30

The Harvard Advocate Presents...

Henri Cole: A Reading and Conversation
Harold Bloom says: "a central poet of his generation."

Time: Friday, April 30th, 1:30 pm
Location: 21 South Street

Refreshments will be served

Cole's awards and honors include the Berlin Prize of the American Academy in Berlin, the Rome Prize in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

From 1982 until 1988 Cole was executive director of The Academy of American Poets. Since then he has held many teaching positions and been the artist-in-residence at various institutions, including Smith College, Reed College, Brandeis, Columbia, Harvard, and Yale Universities. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Illustrators, win a scholarship to a NYC art school!

Utrecht Art Supplies 2nd Annual Art Competition
(GRAND PRIZE WINNER) – (Best Overall) 6-Week Full Scholarship to
The Grand Central Academy of Art, New York City (a value of $4,000),
and up to $3,500 to cover travel expenses & accommodations
No Entry Fee!!

Get national recognition for your art! Beginning April 19, Utrecht Art Supplies invites you to submit your drawing, painting, or sculpture work.

The top three winners in each category will be awarded Utrecht ArtSmart™ gift cards ranging from $500—$1500. There will be an overall Grand Prize winner who will receive a 6-week Full Scholarship to attend the Grand Central Academy of Art in New York City, and up to $3,500 to cover travel expenses and accommodations. Runners-up will receive Certificates of Merit from Utrecht and American Artist magazine.

Submit up to three pieces of original art. (one per category) All winners and finalists will be selected based on quality and originality of work in each category. The competition will be juried by American Artist, Utrecht Art Supplies' Resident Artist, and the Grand Central Academy of Art.

Enter today!

Entry deadline: September 1, 2010.
Winners will be notified November 1, 2010.

ONE OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Full 6-week scholarship to Grand Central Academy of Art (a value of $4,000) and up to $3500 to cover travel expenses and accommodations. FIRST PLACE DRAWING: $1500 ArtSmart™ gift card from Utrecht Art Supplies FIRST PLACE PAINTING: $1500 ArtSmart™ gift card from Utrecht Art Supplies FIRST PLACE SCULPTURE: $1500 ArtSmart™ gift card from Utrecht Art Supplies SECOND PLACE DRAWING: $750 ArtSmart™ gift card from Utrecht Art Supplies SECOND PLACE PAINTING: $750 ArtSmart™ gift card from Utrecht Art Supplies SECOND PLACE SCULPTURE: $750 ArtSmart™ gift card from Utrecht Art Supplies THIRD PLACE DRAWING: $500 ArtSmart™ gift card from Utrecht Art Supplies THIRD PLACE PAINTING: $500 ArtSmart™ gift card from Utrecht Art Supplies THIRD PLACE SCULPTURE: $500 ArtSmart™ gift card from Utrecht Art Supplies

For more information see: http://contests.interweave.com/utrecht/

Event: Publishing/Children's Literature 4/30

From Elise...

Want To Be A Writer?
Interested in Publishing?

History and Literature presents a conversation with

Elise Broach (author of MASTERPIECE) and Marie Rutkoski (author of THE CELESTIAL GLOBE)

Elise and Marie will discuss and answer questions about children's literature, the intersection of history and literature, creative writing, and publishing.

Time: 2-3pm, Friday, April 30, 2010
Location: Barker Center 110 (Thompson Room)

ELISE BROACH is the author of many picture books and three novels. Both When Dinosaurs Came with Everything and Masterpiece (currently a NY Times Bestseller) won the E. B. White Read Aloud Award of the Association of Booksellers for Children, and Shakespeare's Secret was an Edgar Award Nominee for Best Juvenile Mystery. Elise holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from Yale University, and lives with her family in Connecticut, where she writes and serves in town government.

MARIE RUTKOSKI grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), as the oldest of four children. In high school, she was a member of the Young Adult Advisory Board at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook. She later attended the University of Iowa, where she took Writers’ Workshop classes and also studied with Pulitzer Prize–winner James Alan McPherson. After graduating, she lived in Moscow and Prague. Upon receiving her Ph.D. from Harvard University, she held dual appointments as a lecturer there in both English and American Literature and Language, and History and Literature. Ms. Rutkoski is currently a professor at Brooklyn College. She lives in New York City.