Goldie Goldie Goldfish

With the younger crowd I switched things up a bit and "Goldie" got to make an appearance. That last picture is dear sweet Evan and his wee little sister Kate. They are now my offical fan club representatives as their family is leaving soon to live in Morocco. The set of my books is headed abroad!!! That's an exciting opportunity, to have my work headed half-way around the world..... and it all launched from the Schaumburg Library.

Show Number Two

A few minutes to catch my breath and then the Rasmussen Room is ready for Part Two. It's a younger crowd. A seriously rambuncious younger crowd. A keep-me-on-my-toes-to-stay-ahead-of-the-cresting-surf crowd. WOW!! What fun!

Schaumburg Shananigans!!!

What a great morning!! What great gusts of energy to share. The room was full with kindergartners all the way down to the teenie tots. We sang. We danced. I autographed & personalized my books. We hugged and gave high fives. It was a memorable morning that's for sure.

Tall Giraffe Comes "Home"

Once upon a time there was a Children's Librarian named Nancy. Some of her best friends called her Fancy Nancy, only because she is capable of THE most amazing acts of kindness and generosity with seemingly little effort. It was Nancy O'Connell of the Schaumburg Public Library that wiggled me single-handedly onto the program of ALA (American Library Association) in New Orleans several years ago. It was Fancy Nancy who has been responsible for my appearances at her library's family story-time, thru the years. It was Fancy Nancy who put together evenings of staff development periodically for Chicago-land PreK & K teachers. All of these acts of great vision are worthy of a prize to be certain, but Nancy's real "gift" to me has been her love of my song "Tall Giraffe." It was Nancy alone who urged me to create a book from my call & response sing-a-long. It was Nancy periodically dropping me an email saying one of her patrons wanted to check out a copy of "Tall Giraffe" and how was the project coming along?? It's truly a gift to have such a benevolent supporter. It has been a real treasure to get to know her as the decades roll one into the next. She's a marvel. She's a blessing. I'm a fortunate person to have such a champion in my back court. I know you are just as proud of Tall Giraffe, the picture book as my own mama. Thank you Nancy. And by the way, you make THE VERY BEST buttermilk pancakes ever!!!

Lions on the Move

Everybody's back together. The BIG kids. It's time for a Lion Prowl. Look at all of that theatricallity. (Is that a word? LOL) Such expressions. Such drama in their movements. Today was "lucky-duck" day. I let the teacher choose a child, who then got to have the fortunate job of selecting which of my songs they wanted the group to sing. Let me tell you, that's an enormous responsibility, and a treasured opportunity.

Shake Those Shakers

Shake them up high!!

Shake them down low!!

Shake them over here!!

Shake them over there!!

Shake those shakers, EVERYWHERE!!

Artwork in the Hallway

These are a few of my favorite things!!!
(Please sing that little sentence -- for enthusiasm.)

I LOVE getting to make school visits!!! I LOVE getting to see what's been happening before my arrival. I LOVE getting to share what I see on my travels.

Childrens' artwork: Sculptural jellyfish (he's a reggae island-happenin' jelly-man.) Painting. Collage. My very favorite is the three-dimensional snowman sculputre from a drawing, complete with dictation. This building works hard on the Reggio integration of art into the activities of the day plan. I was so fortunate to get to tour programs in Reggio Emilia, Italy. If you'd like to see those posts, click here.

Love it! Love it! Love it! Would you have any idea that all of these projects were created by children with special needs?