Halloween Story Time!

  Share Spooky Stories of
Ghost Encounters in the White House
with the Young People in Your Life

The NCBLA's literature and art anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is an outstanding collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, and poetry that melds with an equally stunning array of original art to offer a look at America’s history through the prism of the White House. 

 

As Halloween approaches, be sure to check out "The House Haunts" by M. T. Anderson in Our White House. Anderson chose to write about White House ghosts because "I have always been fascinated by ghosts, even though I don't believe in them. I have a whole bookshelf next to my bed filled with ghost stories from around the country (and around the world). I knew that as a kid, the first question I would have about a historical place like the White House would have been, 'Is it haunted?'"

 

Here is an excerpt from Anderson's "The House Haunts:"

Some say that a British soldier killed on the White House grounds during the War of 1812 still walks the lawns with a torch in his hand. Others say that a dead doorman still welcomes visitors and that a dutiful servant, though deceased, still shuts off lights at night. Some say that Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams, bustles toward the East Room, carrying a load of laundry to be dried. When gardeners tried to dig up Dolley Madison's rose garden, she returned from the grave to tell them off--so they fled, and the garden remained. Roosevelt, Truman, and Hoover all heard Lincoln knock on their bedroom door; and when Lincoln himself was alive and well, Mrs. Lincoln heard the dead Andrew Jackson tramp up and down the corridors, swearing.

OurWhiteHouse.org, the NCBLA's companion educational website for Our White House, includes discussion questions, activities, and other resources to help young people connect with American history and current events. A special Halloween feature is the web exclusive "Knock, Knock! Whoooo's There? Spooky Stories from Children of the White House" by Renee' Critcher Lyons.  

Did you know that many White House residents throughout the years have claimed that it is HAUNTED? Do you know WHOSE ghosts stalk the bedrooms, fireplaces, and gates? You can read all about the stories of ghostly encounters experienced by presidential children Margaret Truman, Jenna and Barbara Bush, Susan Ford, and Lynda Johnson Robb, in "Knock, Knock! Whoooo's There? Spooky Stories from Children of the White House." We encourage you to share this article--and the accompanying discussion questions and activities--with all the young people in your life.

Here is an excerpt:

Other ghostly noises linger along the gates and upon the doors of the White House’s North Portico. Legend says the banging is the ghost of Anna Surrat rattling the doors and gates, pleading for her mother’s life. (Anna is the daughter of Mary Surrat, hanged in 1865 after her conviction as a conspirator in the murder of Abraham Lincoln. Mary became the only woman ever executed by the U.S. government). Anna’s weeping swells throughout the White House’s entrance hall, even with the doors shut! And on July 7th each year, the anniversary of her mother’s execution, Anna’s ghost paces back and forth on the front steps, supposedly awaiting the arrival of President Johnson.

 

To learn more about Our White House, click here.

Looking for Even MORE Spooky Stories?
Check out the "Boo to You!" list on ReadingRockets.org for scary and not-so-spooky tales filled with pumpkins, ghosts, and monsters galore, and peruse the "Monsters Bookshelf" on the New York Times website.

For more great fall reading suggestions, check out the NCBLA's "Great Books for Boys" list and "Discovering Fantasy Beyond Harry Potter."

Field Trip Suggestion: Maurice Sendak Exhibit

Work of Beloved Author and Illustrator Maurice Sendak Now Touring the Country

The touring exhibition of Maurice Sendak's illustrations  is currently on display at the Portland Public Library in Portland, Maine. 

The exhibition title "Maurice Sendak: 50 Years, 50 Works, 50 Reasons" alludes to the fact that this is the 50th anniversary of Sendak's landmark children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are."
 
To see the complete list of exhibition locations, click here. 

Trick or Treat! Halloween Reading Lists

Fun and Frightful Books to Share
with Young Readers this Halloween

Including short stories and poetry, easy readers and middle grade tales, check out these curated lists of fun books with Halloween themes to get all the young people in your life reading and asking for more!

• Ten Books for Halloween on ReadingRockets.org: From the slightly spooky to the simply silly, here are ten recommended books for kids ages 0-9 that are guaranteed Halloween hits.
• Boo to You! on ReadingRockets.org: Ten more scary and not-so-spooky books for kids ages 0-9 filled with pumpkins, ghosts, and monsters galore.
• Boo! on the Horn Book: An easy reader, a seek-and-find, and two poetry books bring Halloween silliness to early elementary readers. 
• Slightly Spooky Middle-Grade Tales on the Horn Book.
• Poems to Ready by Jack-O-Lantern Light in the New York Times: "Trick-or-Treat" and "Your Skeleton Is Showing"

Implementing Readers Theater

Readers Theater
Offers Engaging Opportunities
to Get Kids READING

Check Out the NCBLA's Education Resource Guide and Make It Happen

The NCBLA, in partnership with the Center for the Book in the Library of
Congress, presented a Children's "Literary Lights" Readers
Theater presentation at the 2013 National Book Festival. Pictured L-R:
Katherine Paterson, Jon Scieszka, Lynda Johnson Robb as Cowboy,
Carol Rasco as Octopus, Susan Cooper, Grace Lin, and Mary Brigid Barrett.

Readers Theater dramatic presentations are in many ways like radio plays. In a Readers Theater production, performers stand in place onstage, reading their lines from a script, using their voices to heighten comedy and drama; costumes and sets are limited or nonexistent. Readers Theater productions became popular during and after World War II when financial resources to produce plays were limited. 
 

The NCBLA's recent Readers Theater included two readers
costumed as Jon Scieszka's Cowboy and Octopus, but a
successful Readers Theater does not require costumes or
props. Costumes designed and constructed by Elizabeth Barrett
Groth. To see more of Elizabeth's work, visit ElizabethBarrettGroth.com.

Readers Theater Motivates Kids to Read and Write MORE
Educators have embraced Readers Theater as a compelling literacy and literature art form that not only enhances young people’s reading skills, but also builds young people’s critical and creative thinking skills, especially when young people create their own Readers Theater scripts based on books, personal stories, and current events. A 1999 study by Strecker, Roser, and Martinez showed that second graders who participated in Readers Theater productions on a regular basis, made, on average, more than a year’s growth in reading. Readers Theater motivates young people to read and write more; it is a learning activity that is both interesting and fun. 

Print Our Readers Theater Education Resource Guide
The NCBLA has created an easy-to-print Readers Theater Education Resource Guide to help you engage young people in writing their own productions in classrooms, camps, Boys and Girls Centers, YMCAs, backyard decks, or family living rooms. To check it out on thencbla.org website, click here.

Literacy Heroes Spotlight

USO's United Through Reading Program Helps Separated Military Families Read Together

Cadette Girl Scouts Collect Books Through Book Drives and Food Sales

The literacy nonprofit United Through Reading was established in 1989 with a mission to unite military families facing physical separation by facilitating the bonding experience of reading aloud together. Their vision is that all children will feel the security of caring family relationships and develop a love of reading through the read-aloud experience. 


United Through Reading is the nation’s first nonprofit to promote the read-aloud experience for separated military families.  United Through Reading offers deployed parents the opportunity to be video-recorded reading storybooks to their children, which eases the stress of separation, maintains positive emotional connections, and cultivates a love of reading. After recording, the USO ships the book and video to the respective soldier's family to read over and over again. At nearly 200 recording locations worldwide, Marines, Soldiers and Sailors, National Guard, Reservists and Airmen, can read to their children from units on ships, in tents in Afghanistan, on bases and installations around the world and at 70 USO centers worldwide.

The NCBLA was recently inspired by the story of two 12-year old Girl Scout Cadettes who are collecting books for their Silver project to donate to the United Through Reading station at Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) airport. The pair launched their collection efforts this past spring by asking local stores and restaurants to allow them to place book collection bins. They are also holding baked goods and lemonade sales to raise money to buy additional books. So far the two have collected and donated over 300 books to the program!

United Through Reading will gladly accept new or gently used books for young people aged birth through 18. Their greatest need is for books for young people aged through 14.

If you would like to donate books to support the Maryland girl scouts' project, please ship them directly to the USO office at BWI:

USO BWI

P.O. Box 416

Linthicum, MD 21090

If you would like to make a monetary donation to United Through Reading, visit the Donate page of their website.

 

Effective Writing Tips for the Classroom

Teachers!
Set The Stage for Great Writing

Many kids think of writing as a burden and a chore rather than as a pleasurable experience. Here are some suggestions to help you motivate your students to get them writing.

• Professional writers choose their own topics and story ideas; they write about things they care about. In our current test oppressive culture, students have little opportunity to choose their own writing topics. Whenever possible, offer your students choices within a given writing assignment. If, after being given a writing assignment, a student comes up with a legitimately better idea, be flexible; allow them to bend the assignment to meet their interests.
• Fight to keep creative writing projects in your classroom and your school’s curriculum. With state testing mandates, many teachers have little time to spend on creative writing projects. Your students need to experience writing for joy and pleasure, just like they need to experience reading and books in a pleasurable atmosphere.
• Introducing kids to rich and entertaining children’s literature is the best way to get kids excited about reading and books. Creating their own stories is one of the best ways you can get your students excited about writing.
• The esteemed writer Virginia Woolf suggested that a writer needs "a room of one’s own." Writers need privacy in order to work and school is, conversely, a communal experience. What’s to be done? First, buck the team work trend and have your students work independently on their own writing projects and assignments. Second, see if there is some way you can allow your students to find their own writing space either in the classroom or in the school library, even if they can only use the space on occasion. Third, contact your students' parents and ask them to help their children find a special place at home to write. You may want to print and make multiple copies of the NCBLA article "Creating a Home Atmosphere That Supports Great Writing," and give a copy to each of your students’ parents. It will help them create an atmosphere at home to support their children’s writing.
• Be a role model. If you want your students to think that writing is a pleasurable activity, then you should try to write, too, and let them see you writing. Participate yourself in the creative writing projects you give your students and let them hear the results of your attempts, after they have completed their assignments. If you have the courage to share your writing, they will follow your example!

Find more tips and engaging articles for teachers, parents, and mentors on the NCBLA's website: thencbla.org.

©2004 Mary Brigid Barrett

Readers Theater at the National Book Festival

Did You Miss Us
at the National Book Festival?

Check Out Our Photo Album!

Katherine Paterson, Jon Scieszka, Lynda Johnson Robb

as Cowboy, Carol Rasco as Octopus, Susan Cooper, Grace Lin,

and Mary Brigid Barrett.

The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, in partnership with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, gathered in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, September 22 to present a Children's "Literary Lights" Readers Theater presentation at the 13^th Annual National Book Festival. 

Our nation's first two National Ambassadors for Young People's

Literature: Katherine Paterson and Jon Scieszka.

The "Literary Lights" performance featured former National Ambassadors for Young People's Literature Katherine Paterson and Jon Scieszka, as well as award-winning authors Susan Cooper and Grace Lin. 

Susan Cooper, Mary Brigid Barrett, and Grace Lin.

The Readers Theater also featured—in costume—literacy champions Carol Rasco, President and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), and Lynda Johnson Robb, a founding board member and Chairman Emeritus of RIF. NCBLA President and Executive Director Mary Brigid Barrett introduced the presentation, which was created for adults and children of all ages. 

Lynda Johnson Robb and Carol Rasco serve as masters of

ceremony costumed as the title characters in Jon Scieszka's

picture book Cowboy and Octopus. Costumes designed and
constructed by Elizabeth Barrett Groth.

Readers Theater is a dramatic presentation similar to a radio play. This special production was inspired by books written by each of the performing authors. Katherine Paterson wrote the scripts for Jon Scieszka’s Cowboy and Octopus (Viking Juvenile), Grace Lin’s Starry River of the Sky (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), and her own A Stubborn Sweetness and Other Stories for the Christmas Season (Westminster John Know Press), incorporating the original text from the books. Susan Cooper wrote her own script for King of Shadows (Margaret K. McElderry Books). Robb and Rasco served as masters of ceremony, costumed as the title characters of Scieszka’s Cowboy and Octopus. 

To learn more about Readers Theater, visit the NCBLA's website.

An album of all our photographs is available on our Facebook page.

The Cowboy and Octopus costumes were designed and constructed by costume and set designer Elizabeth Barrett Groth. To see more of Elizabeth's work, visit ElizabethBarrettGroth.com

 

Be sure to check out all of our participating authors' books at your local library or bookstore!

Katherine Paterson, Jon Scieszka, Lynda Johnson Robb as Cowboy, Carol Rasco as Octopus,
Susan Cooper, Grace Lin, and Mary Brigid Barrett perform Readers Theater at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.