Seriously, yesterday I was taken back to my elementary-school days where I'd chance upon a Scholastic book selection ordered from the thin-paper of their ads or find the luck-of-the-draw book at a local library where a title caught my attention. As a kid, I would lose myself humorous texts and loved the imagination inside my head more than I did living the dull and predictable days of being outside in the real world....
Bryan the Geek-Boy, Frog. I'm a nerd.
This was especially true in 5th grade when I had Mr. Finster, a man with multiple sclerosis who passionately pushed his students to high standards and creativity (requiring a new piece of writing every Friday and making us suffer through his mathematical torture chamber - he'd run his wheelchair into your shin as she spouted out multiplication numbers, only retreating when you got the right answers. I was the first to achieve success at beating him at his own game). Loved that man and his passion for language. He sold us on Roald Dahl and made us write love letters to Patricia O'Neal, who he desperately tried to woo away from her husband. Ah, we remember 2% of what we're taught in schools and 100% of the characters that taught us.
Second, Jerry, your craft continues to impress me (and I'm thankful you sent me an early copy of J vs. K so I can think about how to use it with the Connecticut Writing Project). I won't spill too much of the brilliance here, but simply acknowledge the best part of the collaboration (besides the appearance of frogs) was the breaking of multiple walls to get a story across (including the beautifully brilliant jabs the two superstars throw at one another as part of the storytelling). The Monday reading, all as my way of shouting out to MLK on January 20th, brought me back to all the joyous moments I spent as a kid finding great books that make me laugh and inspire my own creative tendencies.
Rivaling banter works best in liaison of mutual respect. Loved the story, the teach-ability, and the connection between two writers I cherish (cough cough - Connecticut connection...The Crossover & New Kid both with K-12/CWP collaborations BEFORE Newbery awards, says an aging Frog who was bery bery glad this new book came sooner than later).
Weird flashback of meeting an Acoustic Rooster in upstate NY and then living a few towns over from a crafty man in CT.
Back to the frogs...I'm hearing my Grannie Annie's storytelling of young frogs in love on Lebanon Reservoir where she'd talk to them as if they were family.
There was no gelato, however. But I did get the ceramic couple after she passed.
Ah, I'm simply excited that Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft are modeling human togetherness and what is possible when brilliant creators come together. I've always been a visual learner, so am drawn to art, but have also known words as an irreplaceable art form. Showcasing both for young people to read (explore/discover) makes this National Writing Project teaching guy extremely happy. I already have ideas for how to add it to workshops with youth and I'm excited they targeted late-elementary readers to get them hooked on reading/creating in the same way I was as a result of teachers like Mr. Finster.
Time to head back to campus to start classes, but I'm super motivated knowing that how a new semester began will also be how I'll be celebrating it at the end.
Bravo.
