New York City from the Air

Stephen Wiltshire is a talented man with autism.  In this video he visits New York City and is able to draw it in exact architectural detail as he has done in every major city of the world.  It is an amazing reminder in April--which is Autism Awareness Month--that when one area of the brain is impaired very often another is exceptional.  More on that in my other blog, Autism Unplugged.  For our purposes here, Mr.Wiltshire gives a new twist to the frequently visited observation decks of New York.  If you're headed to New York, have your children take a sketchbook and see how much they can draw from memory back at the hotel that night.  Mr. Wiltshire has been nicknamed, The Human Camera.  

Have you read the Cam Jansen books by David Adler?  Cam is short for camera and has become the nickname of the girl heroine who has a photographic memory and uses it to solve mysteries around school and town.  My son has autism and a strong visual memory system.  He loved this series of early chapter books because he could so readily identify with how her mind worked.  Check them out!

While we're on the subject of New York City for kids, be sure to find Madlenka by Peter Sis. His books are incredibly well designed and this one is in the shape of a city block.  Reading it puts you in the shoes of a young NYC resident who knows each one of her multi-cultural neighbors quite well and shares her daily life with them.   His website offers a Teacher's Guide as well as an animated excerpt which is will give you the feel for the book.

Enjoy for now.  There is always more to say about New York City.

Boy Overboard-Saved!

You know I love books. So much so, that we have opted out of television at our house--for the past 10 years.  Anything for more family time and reading! What you also need to know is that I am married to a movie buff.  In addition, our son is such a visual learner that he has the production studios and ratings of his favorite movies memorized.  Ask him what movie Julie Andrews was in and he'll recite a list including Victor, Victoria.

So, once in a while, I cannot resist sharing a movie that will make you want to jump ship or catch a train or hit the road! Captains Courageous is an oldie but goodie to be sure. It is loaded with character lessons about hard work, honesty, courage, the Bible and heaven. It also fleshes out the cod fishing industry from the perspective of a self-indulged 11-yr old boy.

Why not watch it this summer and visit Gloucester if you're in the Boston area. You could re-stage a tribute to "those who have died at sea" at the Fisherman's Memorial where it was filmed; experience the difference between trawl fishing and open line; visit the Cape Ann Museum ; and be sure to taste of some cod liver oil on Portugese bread!

As all good movies are, Captains Courageous is based on a book by Rudyard Kipling.  One could think of it as a masculine version of The Secret Garden where a pampered, arrogant boarding school brat is miracuously transformed by adversity. 

It is worth joining Netflix!  And I won't say that very often.

For the younger set: Burt Dow Deep Water Man Robert McCloskey's last book will embellish the Jonah ("badluck") reference and reinforce the saltiness of fishermen.

For the grown-ups: Cod by Mark Kurlansky will fill in lots of historical detail.

photo credit:  www.answers.com, www.barbsbook.com

Around the World in 80 Ways

I must say I am envious. This family of Soultravelers has set out indefinitely to travel the world and what's more, to document their travels. I love the quotation of St. Augustine's on their site:

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page.”

Do you think they packed any books?  

Maybe Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray.  It is the account of an eleven year old traveling minstrel boy who travels the road of Medieval England, visiting town and encountering a variety of different people.

There have always been people for whom the road —any road —is not simply a cleared strip of terrain that makes travel easier. For them it is a central part of their way of life. Adam’s father, Roger, a minstrel in thirteenth-century England, talks to him about the road: "It brings all kinds of people and all parts of England together. And it’s home to a minstrel, even though he may happen to be sleeping in a castle."

Destination: Outer Banks, NC

Most often our family trips follow the inspiration of a book.  We set off to discover Brighty's trail in the Grand Canyon.  Or we intentionally flew from sunny San Diego to summer with Laura Ingalls Wilder on the prairies of South Dakota.  Other times, the destination is chosen and then I seek to round it out with literature.  This summer the plan is for a long overdue family reunion on Cape Hatteras with my husband's kin.  

After sending the deposit into Hatteras Realty, my first stop is the library.  Since we live in San Diego it can be slim pickins even for a guidebook but I did find one.  The history section gives me clues of topics we could 

embrace for our trip's theme:  Blackbeard the Pirate, 

lighthouses, the Wright Brothers, erosion.  Using the worldwide library website I can browse the collection at any local branch and even request titles be held for me when I arrive.  Looks like the East Abermarle branch serves Cape Hatteras so I will check back with them to see about any special events scheduled during our stay.  

In this research stage my next stop is always to peruse the Backroads trip itinerary to see what they do.  Their trips are so awesome I trust their aesthetic when choosing inns and prioritizing what-to-do.  Each of their itineraries has a "recommended reading" list under Trip Preparation which links you to Longitude.  In this case, Backroads doesn't go have a Hatteras trip....that's ok I don't need a hotel either!  But boy oh boy, does Longitude have a reading list for the Outer Banks....as well as a Kid's Reading section.  

In addition to Longitude, I surfed Amazon's site searching on "Outer Banks juvenile" or "Hatteras juvenile" as a starting point.  Even if you are traveling without kids, children's literature is often a quick way to get the salient points on any one subject.  

So back I go to my library site here in Solana Beach to request the titles that jumped out at me.  It is not economical--of money or time--to buy as many books as we read so I will see which of these we can borrow.  Here's what I've requested all from the comfort of home.  My friendly neighborhood librarians will retrieve them and have them on the "Hold" shelf for me in no time flat.  Now if you only learn one thing from this blog--learn how to do that!

Here's the short list:  

The Race to Save the Lord God Bird • Phillip Hoose • NATURAL HISTORY • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) • An engaging and well-researched history of the ivory-billed woodpecker, and the struggles surrounding its survival. It's a suspenseful and entertaining book about modern conservation and environmental issues for middle-school readers. 

Stories from Where We Live, The South Atlantic Coast • Sara St. Antoine • Trudy Nicholson • Paul Mirocha • LITERATURE • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) • An anthology of short stories, poems, essays, and historical accounts about the ecoregion spanning the thousand miles from Baltimore to Miami.

Teach's Light, A tale of Blackbeard the Pirate • Nell Wise Wechter • Bruce Tucker • LITERATURE • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) • A time-travel novel about two modern American teens and the pirate Blackbeard.

The Wright Brothers, How They Invented the Airplane • Russell Freedman • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • YOUNG ADULTS • A young-adult biography of the flying brothers. 

The Odyssey of Ben O'Neal Cape Hatteras Trilogy by Theodore Taylor

Out of Harm's Way by Mark Booher

This book is the story - a story of an American icon headed for disaster and how engineers, dedicated workers and concerned citizens saved the Cape Hatteras lighthouse from harm's way.

Any other book suggestions to inspire our Hatteras trip?

photo credits:  www.purlgurl.com, www.duke.edu