The Bellevue Public Library's Native American Cultural Fair was held at the library on Saturday, October 11, 2014.
Headlining our event was award-winning author Joseph Bruchac. Mr. Bruchac's visit was funded by Humanities Nebraska, Mrs. Carol Gendler, Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, UNO College of Education, and the Omaha Public Schools Native Indigenous Centered Education Program. Joe (as he introduced himself) is the author of more than 120 books which include picture books, chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adults.
Joe entertained his audience with a variety of tales from native American tribes. His wonderful storytelling kept everyone captivated as we laughed and responded to his tales. While photos were not taken of his performance, here are some pictures taken before his presentation and at the meet and greet and book signing that took place afterwards.
Pamela Duncan, standing to the right of Joe, was on hand to provide sign language interpretation for anyone who needed the service.
Ellen Scott from The Bookworm Bookstore was on hand to sell copies of a few of Joe's books following his presentation. Joe was gracious in making himself available to sign copies of his books, sit and chat with some audience members, and pose for photos.
Following Joseph Bruchac's performance, attendees were invited to enjoy the music of local musician Michael Murphy. Michael brought a Native American flute, as well as a drone flute to play for his audience. He also spent time showing children how to decorate their own balsa wood flutes to take home.
Several parents and interested adults stepped forward to help the children. Some cut lengths of yarn while others helped the children with wrapping the yarn around the flute.
If you are interested in Michael Murphy's music, you might like to purchase one of his CDs, which are available at Rebecca's Indian Trading Post.
Rebecca's Indian Trading Post generously loaned us a table-full of artwork, herbs, clothing, and musical instruments which we placed on exhibit during this event. Regretfully I didn't get any photos of the display. If any of my readers happened to take a photo of the display, I would love to add the photo to this post!
Our Cultural Fair also included a puppet show performed by local puppeteer Brian Henning. The audience arrived and took their seats in anticipation of the start of the show.
Brian Henning, seen backstage before his performance of "Native American Tales", an original puppet show.
In Brian's "Native American Tales", Little Crow's sister, Mourning Dove, tells him several tales she had learned from their grandmother. The stories included "How Opossum Got Her Tail", "How Beaver Raced Turtle", "How Crow Became Black", and "A Mouse Tale" (a version of the story about an ant and a grasshopper).
I am so grateful to Susan McWilliams, Assistant Professor at UNO College of Education, who contacted me about hosting Joseph Bruchac during his visit to the metro area. Susan is a member of the Omaha Family Literacy Partnership which worked to bring Mr. Bruchac to town. Her patience in answering my myriad logistical questions was very much appreciated! I hope this is not the last time you see her name in my blog, as I would love to partner with her again in hosting an author visit or other activities designed to encourage and celebrate literacy within families!
On my recent trip to visit family at Clear Lake, I stopped at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum, located right next door to the Mason City (Iowa) Public Library. Because of time restrictions I saved my tour of most of the art museum for another visit. Instead, I went straight upstairs to see... Bil Baird's World of Puppets! Even if the name Bil Baird doesn't ring a bell with you, I suspect you have seen the famous movie in which his puppets are featured! Here is a clip from the movie.
Here are some photos I took while at the museum. Because museum visitors are asked not to use flash photography, some of the pictures are dark, but I hope you can still see them well enough to identify some of the characters from The Sound of Music!
I learned that Bil Baird, who grew up in Mason City, designed and made marionettes for puppet shows and movies, but also designed marionettes for use in TV commercials! Here are pictures from several other displays. Do any of the characters look familiar to you?
Here is a video from The Shirley Temple Show (c. 1960) that features Bil's puppets. Can you figure out which photo below shows the puppets used on that show?
The gallery that displayed the marionettes also featured a child-size puppet theater! The theater was built to include two backdrops that can be changed, depending on the setting for the show. It was a very compact, very efficiently-designed stage!
When it was time to leave the museum we strolled out on the lawn and discovered this:
The museum's website has information on this interesting play center.
If you would like more information on puppets and puppetry, you might enjoy these titles, available at the Bellevue Public Library:
Finger Puppet Fun by Thomasina Smith
The Muppets Make Puppets by Cheryl Henson
On Stage: Theater Games and Activities For Kids by Lisa Bany-Winters
My Puppet Art Class by Nellie Shepherd
Making Puppets by Sally Henry
Make Your Own Puppets by Anna-Marie D'Cruz
The Art of the Puppet by Bil Baird
This Baby & Me Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on Tuesday, March 18, and Thursday, March 20, 2014.
Book:
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
Songs:
Clap Your Hands, 1,2,3!
(tune: "This Old Man")
Clap your hands, 1,2,3!
Play a clapping game with me.
Now your hands have gone away...
(move baby's hands behind back, or cover with your own hands)
* Bring them back so we can play!
*(for the final verse, replace the previous line with:
We'll play this game another day!)
Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands
(tune: unknown)
Clap, clap, clap your hands,
Clap your hands together.
Clap, clap, clap your hands,
Clap your hands together.
You can make up lots of fun verses such as...
Tap, tap, tap your feet...
Wave, wave, wave your hands...
Give, give, give a hug...
Blow, blow, blow a kiss...
Pat, pat, pat your knees...
Rub, rub, rub your tummy...
Activities:
Everybody Knows I Love My Toes
(by Barbara Allyn, copyright SOCAN)
Everybody knows I love my toes.
Everybody knows I love my toes.
I love my noggin', my knees,
my neck and my nose,
And everybody knows I love my toes!
Everybody knows I love my eyes.
Everybody knows I love my eyes.
I love my legs, my lips,
my neck and my nose,
And everybody knows I love my toes!
Everybody knows I love my feet.
Everybody knows I love my feet.
I love my skin, my chin,
my neck and my nose,
And everybody knows I love my toes!
On My Toe There is a Flea
On my toe there is a flea.
Now it's climbing past my knee,
Past my tummy,
Past my nose,
On my head where my hair grows.
On my head there is a flea.
Now it's climbing down on me,
Past my tummy,
Past my knee,
On my toe,
Take that, you flea!
Our parents seem to especially enjoy this one during storytime! You can creep your fingers up and down your child's body, stopping at each mentioned part. On the last line, you can tickle or kiss your child's toes, or help them gently shake their leg!
Our activity this week was hand puppets!
I enjoyed watching and listening as the adults interacted with their little ones. I heard lots of animal sounds as the babies looked at and touched a bee puppet, as well as a cow, a lion, and many more.
This week we welcomed several new friends: Giovanna and her big brother Jose, Erika, and Patrick. Welcome! We are so glad you joined us!
Our next Baby and Me Storytime will be March 25 & 27, 2014!
Each Baby & Me Storytime includes activities that support one or more of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing –were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).
