Veteran's Day on Horizon

"Changing the world, one song at a time."

Veteran's Day is next on the horizon!!

This is the perfect occasion for my nationally INDIE Award of Excellence winning picture book "Red, White and Blue" to make a contribution to your classroom's observation of patriotism. My book's text is based on the lyrics of a song that I wrote celebrating our country; it's great beauty, diversity and all things Americana!!

The book includes a CD insert which allows students to sing the song as they read along. There's even an instrumental version included for performance purposes. I've received some amazing feedback regarding student 'performances' of my song for PTA, parent's nights and even auditorium presentations for peers. My song and book were used extensively last month with the observation of the 10th anniversary of September 11th and brought numerous creative, age-appropriate contributions to that historical event.

I am also the illustrator of the book, having created the16 small quilts for its 32 pages worth of illustrations.
We start off with the flag and conclude appropriately with fireworks! In between there's purple mountains, red-rock mountain formations and palm trees -- each with their own implicit geography lessons. From the simplicity of our beautiful country's natural topography we travel to the small family farm, then on to a bay-side village and ultimately into the big city, all portrayed 'representational-style', through fabric quilts.

Yes. It took me a long time to create the quilts -- over five years in fact!! Creating them was a labor of love and I'm always ecstatic to have the opportunity to share the actual quilts during my school & library concert-visits!! At this moment I am currently in OH and we're bunking it at my daughter Sarah's home as I make a series of professional presentations, keynotes and school author/illustrator visits amidst my Buckeye brethren.

BTW: That's Sarah's husband, my son-in-law, Scott, in the very first picture, way at the beginning of this blog-post. He'd just returned from his latest deployment to the Middle East as we arrived walking in the front door in his flight suit -- just as I was opening my amazing fan-mail. He's holding my Kinder-LUV mini-quilt from one of my biggest fans. Thanks Captain Mettle for posing as my back-drop. [Click here to read an earlier Fourth of July post entitled: Freedom Isn't Free about his service to our country.]

Last spring I presented at the state-wide Illinois Reading Association's conference and we filmed the YouTube video above. You can watch as fellow educators sing along and learn the sign language that supports the lyrics of my song which become the text of my book. That event is also where I met Carie the Kindergarten teacher. She'd served 9 years in the US Army, with one year stationed in Iraq, prior to taking over the reins in kindergarten. She 'just happens to be a lover of quilts. She left the conference to travel home to direct her K-kiddos in the creation of this monumental construction paper quilt measuring 19 feet wide by 11 feet high as last school year came to its close.

I'm THRILLED to have a snippet of their efforts to share up-close with others. I hope that you'll have time to take a look at the photos in these earlier posts, to see how this master piece was created. Did you guess that each color of paper was 'painted' by rolling marbles thru paint? Here's the personal inscription on the back of my laminated quiltie-snippet.

We've created a mutual admiration society, the two of us!!!

While many think of picture books as primarily appropriate for the youngest of children, I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing this, my newest picture book, with a wide variety of educators of all grades and have carefully listened to their response, ideas and insight. My dear friend and Language Arts professor Mary Meyer took one look and came up with several 'writing' and extension ideas for the upper elementary age students at our first luncheon-reveal.

+++++Upon seeing the illustration above Mary thought it would be fun for the older elementary students to use this two page spread [some artists would call it an 'opening' or a 'window'] as a prompt to make up a story about who these people are & how they are related to one another, as per an episode of TV's popular "Modern Family." I'd LUV to read those writings!! [BTW: Yes, that's our Scott coming home  in his dress bluesf rom Afghanistan last year just in time for some gobble-gobble.]

+++++Mary's other idea was to have the older elementary students write an essay on what part of 'America' the illustrator (yup, that's me) left out of the pictures. While I included purple mountains and red-rock formations there are no ocean-side illustrations, no frozen tundras, no flat corn fields, no cactus...... you get the idea. What else is missing?? If you were going to make a picture book of America, what 'pictures' and images would you include?

+++++With the older students, I think it would be fun to do some mathematical estimations of how many different fabrics I used in any given two page spread. The gifted and talented could extrapolate the total number of different fabrics used through out the entire book. [BTW: I have no idea what the correct answer is, let's just agree that I have an extensive fabric stash.] Doing a quick scan of the Thanksgiving lay-out just above I can quickly see over 85 different fabrics in play!!!! The fireworks quilt is also LOADED with different fabrics.

+++++Here's a brilliant idea from Denise Boehm over at Sunny Days in Second Grade as they created heart shaped patriotic responses while using my book as a portion of their observation last month for 9-11. She had her students write out the Pledge of Allegiance on the back of their flag-esque construction paper hearts.

+++++ Last Veteran's day an early childhood program in Texas used my song as the basis for their serenade to a group of Veterans and active duty, enlisted personnel stationed near their center. Here's a journal entry from one of those wee wonders. The child's hand has been traced in the formation of the American sign language short-hand 'sign' which conveys "I love you" the rhyming lyric that follows "red, white and blue" in each of my verses.

Following this concept, an older student could trace their hand and do a writing 'art-journal' entry about what being an American means to them, weaving their words around the contour of their extended fingers. I can envision some scrap book papers or other stars and striped artwork for mounting each hand -- to create a quilted bulletin board of writing hands for an upper elementary social studies unit of study.

[Editor's Note from the future: I am now a participant at Teacher's Pay Teachers and my work is now available in zipped filed which include the Mp3 of the song and their instrumental, plus the charts for sign language support, music notation with chords and a page of flag facts. Please click right here for your immediate digital download purchase opportunity.]

In conclusion I want to give my heart-felt, special and sincere appreciation to my new "cyber-mentor," Laura Candler over at Teacher Resources. We have met one another in the 'secret club-house' of Teaching Blog Training School. Laura is a true champion of others, a champion of education and a champion of teachers everywhere. She has been giving me the most positive support and suggestions to introduce my work to the wider educational community. THANK YOOOOOU, LAURA!!!!

******I have just added a permanent link in my sidebar to Laura's site. I continue to marvel at the amazing resources she has assembled. Approximately 80% of the resources on her site are FREEEEEE! They would be especially helpful for 'new' teachers.

If this is your first visit here, one of the main ways to "support" my work is to 'officially' follow my blog. Up in the top left side-bar is Facebook's Networked blogs graph. By clicking "follow" in that grid you will be raising my visibility to other educators. If you really want to go the extra mile you could 'like' my Facebook's newly created fanpage. I will continue to "announce" my presentations and travels in that forum, so that you might meet me on one of my tours.

To read my two earlier 'comprehensive' posts regarding the creation of "Red, White and Blue" follow these links.

Go to this post to learn about the writing of my song and to read other bloggers impressions.

Go to this post for my September 11, tenth anniversary blog article with other patriotic resources.

*****TO ORDER Your own COPY OF my book, click here to go to my website.

I've added this post to a blog hop for November at KinderFun.



Sept 11th Picture Book

September 11th. 2011. Today is the tenth anniversary of what no one had ever imagined in their worst nightmare. We have had ten years to ponder and make sense out of this most senseless day in my mortal memory. What sense is there? There are no words adequate to quantify the loss on that day. There are no words. Like other events in Camelot we will remember where we were and how we learned what unfolded.

The staggering loss of life is one grievous toll, but the unfathomable loss of innocence is what wracks an entire nation, an entire planet, a decade later. My heart is full as this day gets underway. I personally have decided to leave the television turned off as the visual memories are already seared into my brain. [I am one of those creative types who is easily overwhelmed by the nightly news & have learned that for myself, I must carefully ration the world's horrors to 'protect' my optimal functioning.] 

Instead I will contemplate what I have personally contributed to the making of peace. I will contemplate the power of my book. I will contemplate the power of the Arts. I will consider the power of children and the hope that they offer -- even in the face of the unthinkable. [After all, it is the children that provide potential to improve upon this experience of our sharing Planet Earth -- peacefully and together.] I will contemplate the power of my book for all patriotic moments: Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and the morning pledge of Allegiance -- it could be the perfect contribution for any and all of these.

It is those young & innocent children for whom I first wrote my simple dittie, "Red, White and Blue." Written so that together we might have some means to remember what we hold dear about this amazing and diverse country of ours. Written in that time of crisis. Written with the assumption that one day we would have an observation for the tenth year anniversary. We would persevere. As would our flag. Waving flags and the vast history those colors represent. Perseverance. Surviving. Keep it simple.  

Children + Song + Flags + Hope = Debbie's contribution.

Then somehow, somewhere in the midst of these past ten years I learned how to become an author/illustrator!!!! What would you begin if I could promise you that in a decade it would bring fruit? That's probably the topic for an entirely different blog-post. The truth of the matter? Get underway. Begin. Start. Move. Make a list. Take a step. Trust. Believe. Just do it!!

Today I can sit here on another singular, spectacular, sunny, September morn and see the very first evidence of my idea taking root, of a contribution being made, of a book making a difference. These first pictures are from my summer library programs for the Richland County library system, in and around Mansfield OH.

That first picture was taken in a small town Americana-library housed in the basement of the village post office. Here I am sharing my labor-of-love. I am sharing with children what it takes to make a book. In my case: fabric and guts. Plus the biggest gift of all for a cancer survivor? The gift of time. I am sharing with them that we who survived that day ten years ago owe a debt of gratitude to those who have gone before us. We make payment on the debt by using our talents and capabilities for the service of our wider world. Here we're using sign language to convey the other significant lyric in the song, after red, white and blue comes I love you.

                                       

It doesn't matter if we don't know how to get things done when we begin. We still owe it to ourselves and our communities to get underway. Volunteer. Seek a mentor. Ask questions. Attend a seminar. Learn. Use your talents. Expand your capabilities. Stretch and Grow. 

When I began the quilts-as-illustrations for the book version of "Red, White and Blue" I didn't even have any idea of what all 16 quilts subject matter would include. I knew I needed 6 'flag' quilts: 4 verses + the book's cover + the endpapers = six. That left me with 10 more images to conceive and create. Yet I began. I knew that I wanted my book to be about the diversity of our country -- from the diversity of our geography to the diversity of our people. 

So one of the first quilts I made was of a small village, Ephraim WI. I'd learned that the word Ephraim translates from Moravian to the word 'peace'. A suitable place to begin. Iconic two white churches on the hillside and red & white striped awning for Wilson's ice cream parlor. (That's us together with THE Wilson family -- my BCO/Breast Cancer buddy Saint -- whose gift of time was all together way too short IMHO.) From that extreme microcosm village-America I next began the quilt of the big city. 

It wasn't until last summer, watching the Bailey's Harbor Fourth of July parade, five years after I'd first begun the quilts, that I had the brainstorm that the image of fire trucks was the perfect complement to the big city quilt & to reference the events of September 11th in an 'appropriate' manner for children. Every child is fascinated by fire trucks. Our community helpers. Those who respond when we need help the most. How had it taken me five years to think of that connection?? No matter. When I was ready to begin that quilt the inspiration came barreling down the parade route, in the form of a 911 painted boldly on the front bumper. This quilt is the one that I frequently share with children, with students. That illustration out of all 16 quilts, is the one overt reference to today, to September eleventh. Here it is just getting underway.

Now to contemplate the power of the Arts. It was my song, "Red, White and Blue" that directed a community to unite together last year for Veterans Day to honor the military families in their midst and the Veterans years of service. This year they will have the book to share as a part of their new and ongoing tradition.

It was the song and it's book version which inspired Carie to direct her kindergarten students to create a flag-esque quilt from construction paper that covers the gym wall -- all from marbles rolling through paint.  This is the mammoth project created by one who teaches K-kiddos now, but had served nine years in the Army previously and had a year stationed in Iraq. A truly amazing story of being heroic and being inspired by a book. Watch the YouTube version of Carrie's class singing and signing last spring.

It was the book that powered the USO style tour to Germany & Italy where I met our military members stationed abroad and sang with their children, the children of our troops during Month of the Young Military Child. My mind is still spinning at this opportunity. I am both grateful and humbled to have had the amazing good fortune to have traveled and shared this project abroad. Feel free to read the 39 posts here on my blog of that two week adventure earlier this spring.  [It was while in Europe that we had THE most amazing encounter with the LUV of America in Verona, Italy during their re-enactment of the US liberating them.... you can read that account here.]

This picture above is probably my all time favorite photographic image. Me-on-the-move with two uniformed daddies -- one holding the original quilt and the other soldier holding my open book (endpapers showing) with an adoring and onlooking toddler-daughter looking up in awe to her papa as I introduce the project to all the families gathered together. We are in Italy and we have just shared a meal together. Beyond my wildest imagination a year ago. The power of the Arts. The power of the book.

Yet there are limits to self-publication, when I am the complete creative staff AND the entire marketing and sales departments all rolled into one. This song & book, book & song of mine are still very much a 'word-of-mouth' enterprise. I have to remind myself that It is still a toddler. It hasn't yet celebrated its first birthday. It has not yet started to walk on its own. Receiving the national INDIE Award of Excellence was another exhilarating step forward.

What possibilities lie ahead? My responsibility this summer has been to reach out & get connected to a broader blogging educational community. As a result I have received an email that "Red, White and Blue" was used in Florida on Friday of last week, as they sought permission to circulate their video to the school's website. And I know that my book will be part of the second grade's efforts in Texas on Tuesday as they perform for their PTA. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I think YOU can!!! You can tell others of this effort.

Here's a quilt created in the BIG Apple, NYC, last winter in anticipation of my author visit to the preschool right in the heart of it all. This quilt was created by young hands of 3 & 4 year olds.

I will spend this day of observation taking a deep breath. I will spend this day in appreciation for the freedom that I have, that has been crafted by the effort of so many, which needs constant protection. (Click here for my Freedom isn't Free post which chronicles my son-in-law's return from one of his numerous deployments. He is today, now as I type, again in a place I can't spell, far far far from his family. I just received the text message from my daughter that she's fractured her foot. Life goes on with challenges, doesn't it?)

I will spend this day in prayer for those who work to keep us safe: our community helpers, our first responders and our military members here and abroad. I will pray for the many families whose world was irrevocably shattered a decade ago. I will spend this day using my talents. That is the one contribution I can make. That is the one way that I can stand up to terrorism. It is that I can stand up & stitch together my own unique capabilities. I will stand up and be counted. I will stand up and attempt to find teachers in search of this resource. I will stand up and put my capabilities to work. I will stand up in an act of hope. I will stand up in the hope that our children will improve upon this world of ours -- because we have taught them well.

This photo composite was created from my illustrations by Sunny Days

This photo composite was created by my friends at Kindergarten Lesson Plans
Children + Arts + Songs + Books + Literacy = HOPE

[Editor's note from 9-11-12. This song is now available in a digital download format. I am now a participant at Teacher's Pay Teachers where you can immediately purchase and use the song in Mp3 format. Click here.]

In my efforts to learn to 'market' to a wider audience I have learned much about connecting my blog to others. I have learned about linkie-parties. Right this minute Denise of Sunny Days-in-Second Grade is hosting a group link up of ideas that teachers are using to observe 911. I know you will find additional inspiration by going to her blog post. This is her classroom of children and their heart projects created at the end of last week. Go to her post to learn what the children have written on the back of the hearts.

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To me one of the amazing posts in the Sunny Days link-up is from a third grade teacher in Illinois, who devised a project with her class and the fellow third grade classes to have each student write 25 words to describe September 11th. (This was the number 3000 -- total lives lost, divided by the number of students working on the project.) Her project is described here on her blog, Lifelong Learning. The words were written to create two Twin Towers, to graphically demonstrate what was lost, with the power of words. Please take a moment to read on her blog what all was involved in the creation of this effort.

These photos are from the amazing blog, Lifelong Learning.

And show the 3rd graders twin towers and 25 words from each student. Please take a moment to read on her blog what all was involved in the creation of this effort. I know that I'm moved at the very thought. What difference can you make?

Just do it.

****To ORDER a copy for your collection, please follow this link to my WEBSITE!!!!

Concluding Kinder Quilts

Here are the final shots of Carie's Community Kindergarten Quilt. Some final close-ups of the gluing process and then the final reveal. Then Carie posed in front of the quilt, now moved to the school gym and held in place temporarily by an amazing amount of duct tape. Then her classroom children smiling with delight. Then a little wider view showing further just how absolutely enormous the quilt grew. (****Note that my picture book, "Red, White and Blue" is proudly in the laps of the front row crew, in that second group shot.)

As I see it, there are still two challenges in front of Carie. Challenge #1: is to figure out how to permanently install the quilt on a suitable surface, with the gym wall being a logical spot. Plexi-glass or some other concept all together? Challenge #2: is to figure out how to under-write my visit to her school. I have no doubt that there will be solutions for each challenge.

My challenge seems to always be the same. How to get my blog and these amazing & inspirational stories from classrooms near & far, 'out' to a wider audience, into the laptops of teachers who could use such an upbeat resource? This is my summer challenge.

Editors note: now it is weeks later & I am just beginning to learn about 'linky parties' and I think that I have added this post to a July party of children's crafts & activities being hosted at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas. I think I've posted the link below, but I don't see the other people's links here.... so I've probably mucked it up a bit?? I am learning, tho!!!