The Bottomless Book Bag

Always Begin at the Beginning~its the best place of course. Children learn to write books by coloring their first pictures. They love to tell you about their picture. I met this little girl in a barrio in Nicaragua. Where books began for me (Dr. Carol Brown) My first experience with children and books was in a day-care preschool. I was called in as a substitute teacher. “Sure”, I said. I had been looking for a chance to work part time in a school. “You’ll be taking the music class”, said the headmaster. That put my excitement on hold. I had no musical training what-so-ever. “Well, you can play the phonograph can’t you?” he said. This was during the days of record players, small transistor radios, and big box TV. It seemed as though my musical talent with the record player was enhanced by my love and enthusiasm for children. At the end of the day, I decided everyone needed a fun and cheerful book about music. It turned out to be the hit tune of the day. From then on, I knew books an...

Always Begin at the Beginning~its the best place of course. Children learn to write books by coloring their first pictures. They love to tell you about their picture. I met this little girl in a barrio in Nicaragua. Where books began for me (Dr. Carol Brown) My first experience with children and books was in a day-care preschool. I was called in as a substitute teacher. “Sure”, I said. I had been looking for a chance to work part time in a school. “You’ll be taking the music class”, said the headmaster. That put my excitement on hold. I had no musical training what-so-ever. “Well, you can play the phonograph can’t you?” he said. This was during the days of record players, small transistor radios, and big box TV. It seemed as though my musical talent with the record player was enhanced by my love and enthusiasm for children. At the end of the day, I decided everyone needed a fun and cheerful book about music. It turned out to be the hit tune of the day. From then...

      For More Reviews See the BottomlessBookbag.   We often think of American Indians during the Thanksgiving season and the meal eaten with the Plymouth Pilgrims. We don’t know for sure how much of the story is documented history and how much is folklore but we can be certain of the noble cultural heritage received from the indigenous Native American peoples. Descendants of the Wampanoag tribe consistently preserve their oral traditions by describing a peaceful shared meal-- with the Indians bringing much of the food from their own harvest.   Hungry Johnny written by Cheryl Minnema and illustrated by Wesley Ballinger is most likely set in the great northwestern region of the United States. Both author and illustrator for Hungry Johnny are members of the Millie Lacs Band of Ojibwe American Indian tribe of located in Minnesota.   In addition to being a writer, Ms. Minnema is a skilled craftswoman creating beautiful beaded jew...