A Very Curious Tale

Curious George

The premise: a cute, inquisitive monkey gets into mischief and must be saved by a man with an affinity for the color yellow. I am describing an average plot of a Curious George book, whose delightful tales and illustrations have entertained multiple generations and have been translated in many languages, including French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese, Afrikaans, and Japanese. The books have inspired a television series as well as a full length feature film. However, underneath the bright colors and smiles is a history of two dedicated artists who had to flee for their lives.

The illustrator, Hans Augusto Rey, was born on September 16, 1898 in Hamburg, Germany. His childhood home was near the world-famous Hagenbeck Zoo, where he was first inspired to draw animals. Margarete Elisabeth Waldstein (known later as Margret Rey) was the writer out of the duo, and she was born in Hamburg on May 16, 1906. The two met in passing as children before she left to study art. Their paths crossed again in 1935 in Rio de Janiero, where Hans was working with his family business of selling bathtubs and Margret was living after leaving the political instability of Germany. They married in Brazil on August 16, 1935 and moved to Paris, France. They then began to create children’s books, which started with a story of a giraffe and a family of monkeys called Raffy and the Nine Monkeys. One member of this primate clan was a tiny monkey called Fifi, who would later be renamed Curious George. Hans and Margret began writing a book dedicated to him when their lives turned a drastic page.

Illustration of thier escape

By the late 1930s and early 1940s, Europe was experiencing a very dark period as Hitler and his Nazi party began to take over. Both Hans and Margret were Jewish, and they knew they needed to escape Paris before the Nazis invaded. Hans was able to create two bicycles, which they used to flee just hours before Hitler’s army arrived, and continued to ride for four gruesome days all the way to the French-Spanish border. During their journey, they were forced to hide in an abandoned house, which the Nazis raided and left after finding early drawings of Curious George. The couple soon after was able to travel by boat to New York City in 1941, where they began publishing Curious George as well as other adventures of George, a dachshund named Pretzel, and a bunny called Spotty. Even with a wide variety of characters, George remained the favorite and is now one of the most well known figures of children’s literature.

Hans and Margret at a book signing

Unfortunately, Hans passed away in 1977 and Margret in 1996. Fortunately, their fame lives on. The Curious George Foundation, formed in 1989, provides financial support to children like George who are determined and curious to learn more. The foundation funds family counseling and peer support groups as well as programs against animal cruelty and abuse. And of course, children are continually inspired by their books. Many children, even including the fictitious Forrest Gump, have loved to read and re-read tales of Curious George. This is exactly what the creators wanted as Margret said, “George can do what kids can’t do. He can paint a room from the inside. He can hang from a kite in the sky. He can let the animals out of their pens on the farm. He can do all these naughty things that kids would like to do.”

If you would like to read more about Hans and Margret Rey, visit http://bit.ly/wNjGLH and http://bit.ly/aKQSbC. If you’ve been inspired by our furry friend and decide to be more adventurous, travel to the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, MS where they are housing a Curious George exhibit until July 22^nd. If you want more Promising Pages blogs, follow us and stay tuned for next week!    

--Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger

Promising Pages Interns

The word “intern” can be defined as “a person who works as an apprentice or trainee in an occupation or profession to gain practical experience.” I don’t know about you, but the word “apprentice” reminds me of old fashioned jobs like candle making, and the reality television show of the same name. However, I and Promising Pages’ two other interns do not craft molded wax and our supervisor, Kristina Cruise, is much friendlier than Donald Trump. The three of us are quite different with very unique interests and roles for Promising Pages. I’d like to start off with our youngest intern, Chloe Hughes.

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Chloe Hughes on the front left at MLK Day of Service

From Waxhaw, North Carolina, Chloe is a junior at Cuthbertson High School. Growing up, Chloe was an avid reader with a whole library full of books. When asked if she continues to read now, she excitedly answers, “Of course, reading is such a good escape from reality!” Her current favorite book is The Murderer’s Daughter by Randy Susan Meyers. Chloe first heard of Promising Pages when searching for a non-profit to help out with. Chloe says she chose Promising Pages out of the score of other local non-profits because, “I love the message Promising Pages has to offer, and I wanted to be a big part of spreading that message.” She loves sharing what the organization does for people and making new people interested in the spread of literacy. If she could impart some advice to a child who is uncomfortable reading it would be “reading can not only help you academically, but it can help you figure out the type of person you are. When you open a book, no matter the genre, you are meeting a new character for the first time. As simple as a book may look, it could change your whole perspective on life.” Chloe helps out by dressing as Erma the Worma, attending book drives, volunteering at the warehouse, and she even had her own wrapping party with her friends. With such enthusiasm and love for children, it is no wonder she is an intern for Promising Pages!

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Cecily as Erma

Cecily Young, another enthusiastic intern, also dresses as Erma the Worma. Outside of the bright yellow costume, Cecily assists Promising Pages with marketing. This is very appropriate as she is a senior Communication Studies major with a focus in Public Relations at UNC Charlotte. Cecily was born in Richmond, Virginia, and she read constantly in her childhood. She says, “My mother made it a point to read to me and my siblings.” Most of her current reading is for school, but she still holds books close to her heart. She discovered Promising Pages through her Athletic Academic Advisor who had met Kristina and thought Cecily would be a good fit. This has been proved correct as Cecily is thoroughly enjoying herself. She says, “My favorite part of my internship is interacting with the children while dressed up as Erma. The children are just so happy to be receiving a gift!”

I, unlike Chloe and Cecily, have never donned the suit of Erma the Worma. However, being born and raised in Charlotte does make me somewhat of a rare character as it seems everyone here is from somewhere else. My role for Promising Pages is to update everyone in and out of Charlotte about us with weekly blogs, otherwise known as a blogger. I am a senior Creative Writing major with a focus in Fiction and a concentration in Dramatic Literature at Queens University of Charlotte. Simply put, I like to write a lot. This is a part of the way I came into my current position. Queens University held a social media boot camp for select non-profits and nominated students with interests in social media and marketing. It was here that I met Kristina Cruise where we were partnered for an exercise on how to get Promising Pages on the radar of more people. She suggested I start blogging for them. I was instantly interested in Promising Pages because of my strong love of reading. One of my favorite books as a child was Corduroy by Don Freeman. I do not currently have a favorite book, but I greatly admire J.D. Salinger. My favorite part of my internship is definitely being able to do something I love, and spread such an important and uplifting message at the same time. Please tell your friends and coworkers about our blog to inform an even larger number of people about Promising Pages. If you would like more information about us, browse through our website at www.promisingpages.com. And, as always, keep following the blog!   

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Me in the Erma apron and red jacket, next to our volunteer, Patricia

 --Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger

True or Not True?

If you have not read The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, I advise you to drive to the closest book store or download them from the nearest Kindle/tablet device (preferably your own). This blog is partly in celebration of the release of Suzanne Collins’ book adapted movie, The Hunger Games, which will be released Friday, March 23^rd. If you haven’t read this amazing series of books, my blog is still relevant to you. I present a list of facts and myths about reading that some tend to get confused. The primary tie this blog has to Suzanne Collins is that one of her characters, Peeta Mellark, in the final book, poses questions in the form of “true or not true.” It should also be noted that The Hunger Games has been sold in 38 different countries and in 26 different languages, inspiring children nearly everywhere to read. For our nonfictional world of literacy, here is a list that answers the question “true or not true” about reading.

True or Not True:

1.       Prisons use elementary school reading scores to plan for future prison beds.

Not true. This is purely a myth that prisons incorporate second or third grade reading scores to predict how many people in their area will be in prison in the future. Bill Graves’ article from The Oregonian is one of the several news sources that have declared this information false.

“This is an urban myth,” Thornton, spokesman from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, wrote. “A few weeks ago, I contacted nearly every department of corrections in the nation. I heard back from 25 states saying they do not use elementary reading levels to plan for future prison beds. We have no idea where this originated from.”

I think that calls for a sigh of relief.

2.       Reading in dim lighting is harmful for your eyes.

True. According to Science Net Links along with a string of other science journals, reading in low lighting can increase your chances of becoming near sighted.

Howard Howland, a vision expert at Cornell University, states, “In low light, your pupil has to open up wider to let in enough light to see. That changes where light normally hits the retina, blurring the image. So the eye gets a signal to grow longer, so the image will hit the right place on the retina. And that can eventually cause nearsightedness.”

He goes on to say, “Damage is more likely to occur in younger people, where eyes are still developing.”  That means if you have children or young adults, be sure they’re reading in well lit areas. Erm the Worm may rock a cool pair of glasses, but healthy 20/20 vision should be everyone’s goal, so keep those lights on.

3.       Reading upside down confuses the brain.

Not true. The opposite is true. Writer Stephen Mills says reading upside down is one of many ways to exercise your brain. He encourages people to try it! Many other sources agree, saying it strengthens parts of your brain you don’t use much. Other activities that exercise and enrich your brain are writing on paper as opposed to only on the computer and learning a new language.

I would assume bonus points would be in order if you could read in another language upside down!

4.       Reading to your children affects their literacy later on in life.

True. There are so many statistics proving this correct, it would be nearly impossible to list them all. I have selected several from our very own www.promisingpages.com.

True: Reading to children is one of the best ways to promote positive attitudes toward reading and to give children the sounds and words of literacy and reading. Beginning at birth, all children should be read to with regularity and enthusiasm. (Southern Early Childhood Association (2002) Early Literacy and Beginning to Read: A Position Statement of the Southern Early Childhood Association. Southern Early Childhood Association: Dimensions of Early Childhood, 30(4), 28-31)

True: Reading aloud to young children helps to develop vocabulary, phonological awareness, oral language skills, fluency, and a positive attitude toward learning. (Barrentine, S.J. Engaging with reading through interactive read-alouds. The Reading Teacher, 50(1), 36-43)

True: Reading aloud to children is one of the most effective and inexpensive activities parents, caregivers and educators can do to promote literacy. Children who are introduced to books early and read to on a regular basis do better in school. (Herb, S. (1997) Building Blocks for literacy: What current research shows. School Library Journal, 43(7), 23)

5.       Reading makes you smarter.

True! Children who do not become familiar with reading by the age of five are four to five times more likely to drop out of high school. Young children who are not exposed to books have brain scans similar to stroke victims. Here are some other stats from our website:

True: In a study conducted of kindergartners, those who were read to at least three times a week as they entered kindergarten were almost twice as likely to score in the top 25 percent of literacy tests than children who were read to less than three times a week. (National Institute for Literacy (2006). The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Available online. http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/ECLS.html)

True: Children who are read to frequently are nearly twice as likely as other children to show three or more skills associated with emerging literacy. (Nord, C.W., Lennon, J., Liu, B., Chandler, K. (1999). Home Literacy Activities: Signs of Children’s Emerging Literacy: 1993 and 1999. From the National Center for Family Literacy, 2005)

If you would like to know more about the facts I listed, check out these articles at http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2010/03/prisons_dont_use_reading_score.html, http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/reading-in-the-dark/, and  http://www.ratracetrap.com/the-rat-race-trap/25-ways-to-enrich-your-brain-experience.html. More fun facts are also located on our website at www.promisingpages.com. Keep that brain enriched by reading our blog. I dare you to even read it upside down.  

--Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger

Our Wonderful Warehouse

Kristina Cruise's Garage

Everyone loves to time travel, right? Follow me as we cast our minds back to an earlier time in the history of Promising Pages. Way, way, way back to…autumn of 2011. Okay, so maybe not so long ago, but never the less, it was a time of conflict for Promising Pages that would soon be fixed by an unexpected, albeit much appreciated, solution.

Promising Pages really began in April of 2011, and by the formerly mentioned autumn, we had acquired a fairly decent sized library of both new and gently used children’s books thanks to the "Books and Basics Drive" with Central and some permanent drop off locations that came out of that drive such as The Last Word. So getting a fairly steady supply of books certainly wasn’t the problem. No, it was how exactly to store them, and turn them into presents. Kristina Cruise, founder and Director of Promising Pages, was using the space available to her, which was in her garage. However, it soon became packed to the brim with Curious George, Dr. Seuss, and tales of Disney princesses. Kristina Cruise recalls, “We were getting in all these books, which was great, but it was nearly impossible to sort them or even get to them. I couldn't even walk around in there anymore, it was a mess. We needed a solution, we needed some serious storage space.”

CBI Truck

The something bigger we were looking for came from just three tiny letters: CBI, otherwise known as Charlotte Business Interiors. As mentioned in an earlier blog, Promising Pages attended the Charlotte Chamber Annual Retreat in Wild Dunes, South Carolina last October. It was here that Promising Pages announced its BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to collect 1 million children’s books by the end of 2012. Promising Pages made a lot of connections at the retreat including Charlotte Business Interiors, who contacted Kristina in December after hearing she needed storage space. Kristina admits, “When I heard they were offering space, I thought we might get a few shelves in a storage closet.” She was sure in for a big surprise because David Longo of CBI provided Promising Pages with an entire section of a warehouse! “It’s so awesome,” Cruise praises. “It will fit as many books as six two-car-garages and has 30 foot ceilings! We could not be more thankful for this incredible donation." Longo told Cruise their business has just been so blessed and they wanted to help pay it forward by doing something really great for the community. For more about CBI, a Knoll dealers, click here.

CBI Check to Promising Pages!

In order to transfer all of our books, CBI sent their own truck to pick them all up. To top it all off, CBI also donated a check for 1 thousand dollars to Promising Pages! Both the money and the space have been a huge help as we continue with our goal of collecting 1 million books.

The warehouse is a very active location lately as volunteers come to donate, organize, clean, and wrap books. Recently, Elevation Church dedicated 150+ hours of volunteering as part of Love Week in the warehouse. Children cleaned, and the adults sorted and wrapped the books. If you or your organization or someone you know would like to help out Promising Pages at our warehouse, please contact us at info@promisingpages.com.

 

Our Wonderful Warehouse

--Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger