Galimoto: 25 Years of Creative Sharing!

From this to that:

Found wire recycled into

this:  sharing, working together, imagination, creativity, ingenuity and perseverance.

Summer reading! A Beach Tail.

HAPPY BEACH READING!

Look what Read On Wisconsin has selected for their summer reading list.

A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Boyds Mills Press, 2010.

“Swish-swoosh.” The sound of waves washing the shore repeats throughout an engaging picture book in which a young African American boy is the architect of his own adventure. After Gregory draws “a Sandy lion” in the sand at the beach, his dad cautions, “Don’t go in the water, and don’t leave Sandy.” And Gregory doesn’t, but as the tail he draws on Sandy gets longer and longer, it takes him farther and farther away from his dad: over an old sand castle, around a horseshoe and a ghost crab, all the way to a jetty. “But Gregory did not go in the water, and he did not leave Sandy.” It’s only when he finally looks up that Gregory realizes how far he’s gone. He turns a moment of worry—which one of those distant figures sitting on towels is his dad?–into masterful problem solving when he follows Sandy’s tail over and around all the objects, back to his dad’s welcome smile. Floyd Cooper’s sun-washed, sandy illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to this terrific picture book narrative. Highly Commended, 2011 Charlotte Zolotow Award(MS) ©2010 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Check it out here:  http://readon.education.wisc.edu

I will  be taking A Beach Tail to Hawaii to read with my grandson, Ethan.  We plan to make a lion in the sand with a long tail, hoping for a journey down the beach with adventure.

His dad, Peter will be with us, the very boy who left the safety of the family umbrella and inspired this story all those years ago.  I watched him wonder down the beach and panic when he could not find his way back.   That experience resurfaced to become A Beach Tail.  Little did I know I would be sharing it with my grandchildren one summer.

Galimoto 25 years and now part of the Center for the Collaborative Classroom!

Galimoto is 25 this year!  Still appreciated

Still going strong.

Still chosen.    The Center for the Collabortative Classroom has added Galimoto to their curriculum.

It is an honor to have Galimoto join the ranks of this program that uses so many fine books.  A non profit organization that uses literature in their mission, dedicated to students' growth as critical thinkers who learn from, care for and respect one another.

Learn more here:  collaborativeclassroom.org

And see the interview with the author here:

Interview with Karen Lynn Williams 

https://www.collaborativeclassroom.org/blog/2015/05/13/interview-with-karen-lynn-williams

Galimoto is 25! Look what is happening at Chinle Jr. High on the Rez!

Found objects, and wire plus imagination and determination!

Four Feet Two Sandals Goes to Lancaster, PA

From the Navajo Reservation to Amish country!   

Thanks to  Church World Services I had the honor and pleasure to share the background to Four Feet Two Sandals with a group of volunteers and others working with and interested in the refugees from around the world living in the Lancaster area.  

It was exhilarating and humbling to meet such a dedicated group.

Oh the places one book can take the author!

25 year Celebration: Galimoto still going strong!

This little book has been in print for 25 years and still going strong!  It grew out of my passion for the children of Malawi, their resourcefulness and perseverance and for the remarkable toys they made.  Toys I saw as works of art made out of discarded scraps and ingenuity.  

Galimoto has made many friends around the world and brought me joy, taught me much and given me tremendous gratification as readers have responded to Kondi and his journey to build a Galimoto.

Help me Celebrate!!!!!!!!!!!!         

In celebration I am offering free books to the first 25 readers to respond.  Share this opportunity with friends, family, neighbors, teachers, librarians and young people, readers everywhere!  Contact me with your name and address at  karen.karenlynnwilliams.com 

or private message me on Face Book.

Read More about Galimoto Here:

Galimoto (Lothrop, 1990) Illustrated by Catherine Stock
--A Reading Rainbow Featured Book
--New York Times Book Review - Top Ten Books for Children, Summer Reading Selection
--Martin Luther King “Living the Dream”BookAward-
-ParentsChoiceHonorBook,ParentsChoiceFoundation
“Ms. Williams is a skillful story teller and uses language nimbly...Her text, while precise, is smooth and lyrical--a joy to read aloud. The story's strength is in the subtly stated message that persistence and creativity can make dreams come true in spite of the odds" --Patricia McKissack, New York Times Book Review
”Children from all corners of the world will warm to this tale of a boy's persistence.”
-- Publishers Weekly
“Not only an authentic picture of present-day Africa, this is also an attractive portrayal of self-reliant children who know how to meet their own needs through good-humored bargaining and ingenuity, happily absorbed in imaginative play.” -- Kirkus
”Kondi's perseverance and the pleasure he takes in his accomplishments are just two of the delights of this appealing story.” --The Horn Book Magazine 

Order your free copy NOW!

Check out my article and photos in Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot

It's finally out and I get to announce the sale of my article and photos to the Publication of the Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.

The Spider Rock Girls: Weaving in Beauty.

I took my first weaving class with this unique and talented family of weavers here in Chinle four years ago.  Since then we have become friends and my appreciation for the craft and art of Navajo weaving has grown along with the appreciation of how special this family is and how important weaving is in keeping them centered and  helping them to continue a life walking in Beauty.

I began my writing career with articles and photos from Malawi, Africa sold to publicans like Highlights for Children so this is an exciting full circle for me and I hope to explore the use use of digital photography to compliment my writing in future stories and articles.

Here are a few photos that did not appear in the Magazine.

 Sophia, the youngest member of the family itching to get her fingers on that loom and begin weaving.



Grandma the matriarch of the family, a stern but

loving teacher.  The girls learned early that if you make a mistake you take it out and start over.

Emily shows off the family signature design.  

Read more and see more photos in The 2014-15 issue of Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot.  Learn more about weaving, dying and other fabric arts.