Book display at St. James Parish Library |
“Share a book with a child and you
have given illiteracy a dose of cure.”
Ms. Ja'nice Wisdom |
Initially, she modelled the Read Across Jamaica
concept after the NEA’s Read Across America Day initiative, otherwise known for
celebrating the March 2 birthday of children's book author Dr. Seuss (Ted
Gieselle) with a strong emphasis on the universal appeal of “Cat in the Hat.”
However, this year she focused on Jamaican authors. Working in collaboration
with the Book Industry Association of Jamaica (BIAJ) 10 copies of each of 50
titles of books by Jamaican authors were purchased and distributed to 10 schools
and/or libraries. A big 'thank you' to Kellie Magnus for emailing authors, compiling the list, liaising with Ja'nice, and coordinating the collection and handing over of the books. Authors of these books were on hand to read from them
at selected locations, during Education Week.
Following a church service in
Trelawny on Sunday, May 3, Ms. Wisdom presented the Minister of Education, The
Honourable Ronald Thwaites with a copy of
“Oh, The Places You'll Go!” by Dr. Seuss,
to kick-off their Island Wide Bus Tour which began on Monday, May 4 and ended on Saturday May 9.
The schools visited were:
Portsmouth Primary, St. Catherine; Mustard Seed Community–Little Angel’s
Learning Center, Kingston; Hope Valley Experimental, Papine, St. Andrew; St.
Benedicts Primary, Kingston; Port Royal Primary, Kingston; Harbour View Primary,
Kingston; Sankofa Primary, St. Thomas; McIntosh Memorial Primary in Manchester;
Siloah Primary and Appleton Basic Schools in St. Elizabeth; and finally St.
James Parish Library, where I was privileged to be invited to take part in the
activities.
She started the program by playing the song ‘Education is the Key’ by TashaT.
“Education
is the key to success, Education is the way of survival,
Without education you will be declined in
this modern time.
“Education
is the key to success, Education is the way of survival,
Education is the means of sharpening the mind,
in this modern time.”
Children then sang along, moved to the beat,
played tambourines and hit an exercise ball with drum sticks. After this
ice-breaker, Ms. Wisdom talked about juggling different aspects of your life –
self, family and friends. She illustrated this by juggling balls. As in life,
if you drop them, someone will help you retrieve them.
She then read from “Oh, The Places You'll Go!” by Dr. Seuss, picking up two main
themes. One tied in with juggling aspects of your life with its ups and downs. The
other illustrated the way in which books can allow you to travel the world
without leaving your home.
In keeping with this year’s decision to highlight Jamaican children’s
authors, I was then given the opportunity to read from “Delroy in the Marog
Kingdom”. Starting with two boys acting
the parts of Delroy and Mario putting the frog in a pot, and involving all the
children in aspects of the story, I hope I have encouraged them to read the
book, copies of which are available in the library.
With Ja'nice and staff from the library |
After my reading there were more activities for the children.
Ms. Wisdom and the library staff assisted them in making wordless book
bracelets. Then Ms. Wisdom displayed her artistic talents in painting the faces
of the participants, one child at a time, meanwhile the others were supplied
with paper and crayons for their own art work.
I applaud Ms. Wisdom for her vision, her generosity, her
leadership skills and her energizing of the week’s activities for over 12 years
in Jamaica. Read Across Jamaica Foundation Inc. is certainly an organization
well-worth supporting.
CONTRIBUTE: Donate@ReadAcrossJamaica.com;
BOOK DRIVE: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/read-across-jamaica-2015
CONTRIBUTE: Donate@ReadAcrossJamaica.com;
BOOK DRIVE: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/read-across-jamaica-2015
Books by Jamaican Authors distributed by Read Across Jamaica
Foundation
Little Lion Goes to School by Kellie Magnus
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Little Lion at Bat by
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Little Lion Goes for Gold by Kellie Magnus
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Nancy and Grandy Nanny by Rebecca Tortello
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Gammon and the Woman's Tongue Trees by Diane Browne
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Every Little Thing Will be All Right by Diane Browne
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Island Princess in Brooklyn by Diane Browne
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Ash the Flash by Hazel Campbell
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Miss Bettina's House by Hazel Campbell
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Bernie and the Captain's Ghost by Hazel Campbell
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Freedom Come by Jean Goulbourne
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Jo-Jo's Treasure Hunt by Cherrell Shelly-Robinson
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Jenny and the General by Jean D'Costa
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Little Island, Big Adventure by Maria Roberts Squires
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Forest Fever by Sharon James
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Bolo the Monkey by Jonathan Burke
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Irie Morning by Alison Moss-Solomon
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All Over Again by A-Dziko Simba Gegele
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Ptolemy Turtle by Melisande Potter Hall
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Soon Come by Melisande Potter Hall
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Lucille Travels at Christmas by Jasmine N'Toume
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Kito in the Kitchen by Radha Poorhan
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When the Sun and the Moon Ran Away by Maizle Goulbourne
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Dale's Mango Tree by Kim Robinson
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Beautiful Blue Shirt on Barry Street by Isabel Marvin
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Saving Joe Louis by Isabel Marvin
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Naughty Eddie Larue by Julia Wohlt
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Suck Finger Pickney by Tracey McNair
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The Adventures of Lumi & Twizzy by Gina Harvey Lewis
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Fly Away Home by Andy Mead
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Project Climate Save by Petre Williams-Raynor
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Tilly Bummie by Hazel Campbell
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Anancy's African Adventures by Beulah Richmond
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Anancy & Friends by Beulah Richmond
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Drog: A Dreggen Story by Hazel Campbell
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Juicebox & Scandal Bag by Hazel Campbell
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Lally Mae's Farm Suss by Melanie Schwapp
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A Boy Named Neville by Linda Gambrill
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Miss Tiny by Linda Gambrill
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Croaking Johnny and Dizzy Lizzy by Linda Gambrill
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Marcus Garvey by Suzanne Francis Brown
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Searching for Pirates: A Port Royal Adventure by Suzanne Francis Brown
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Young Heroes of the Caribbean by Gwyneth Harold
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The Turtle Tale by Latoya Newman
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Children of Hopeful Village by Latoya Newman
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Aiden and the Apple Tree by Johnathon Kelly
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Prayers for School Days by Carolien Aikman
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Delroy in the Marog Kingdom by Billy Elm
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Errol’s Taxi by Helen Williams
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Little Meeta by Jean Goulbourne
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Mystery of the Golden Table by Suzanne Francis Brown
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Blue Mountain Trouble by Martin Mordecai
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3 comments:
Thank you so much for this Helen. I thought that Read Across Jamaica Day had become a joint initiative with the Jamaica Teachers Association. It is not!
What a neat opportunity to spread the love of reading and literacy in Jamaica! Spinning off the American version, Ja'Nice Wisdom and the foundation have the right idea in making stories come alive (Helen, I love the interactive roleplay with children acting out Delroy and Mario!). They also go further than the Dr. Seuss concept by creating a list and diatributing books of Jamaican authors that the local population can appreciate. I think Read Across __ should be a daily event, highlighted by special weeks like the one for Dr. Seuss and the education one in Jamaica. Thank you for spotlighting how it's done in Jamaica!
Excellent blog, Helen. Thanks for writing it. Much praise to Ja'Nice Wisdom for this initiative and being able to carry it forward.
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