About
Winters, K. (2008). “Rhyme or Reason.” Illustrated by Scot Ritchie. In Stranaghan, C. (Ed.) A World of Stories. Vancouver: Gumboot Books, pp 6-11.
Based on my own life, this is a story about a girl who struggles to rhyme.
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Kari is available to visit schools, libraries, birthday parties, workshops … Please see more about author visits.
Reviews
“Crystal Stranaghan’s World of Stories,” Beacon Magazine October 2008, interview and article by David Morrison:
Review in CM Magazine 15:7, published 11/21/2008
From umanitoba.ca/cm/vol15/no7/aworldofstories.html:
Review by Brianne Grant
***½ /4
Gumboot Books and The Rotary District 5020 have shown that a book can be much more than a book. Their project, A World of Stories, is proof that children’s literature has the ability to make positive change in the world through the virtue of good stories and the initiative of good people. Fifty percent of the proceeds are put towards funding global community literacy projects. In order to make this book happen, authors and illustrators from around the world donated their time and energy to make this book a wonderful read and an important literacy initiative.
For teachers, educators, and parents, A World of Stories is an excellent resource. The concept of the book, which maps out nondenominational international holidays, provides a base for teaching about major holidays celebrated around the world; about issues affecting the world and, of course, about all of the fun days we often miss, like September 19th’s “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” Beside each piece is a succinct explanation of the holiday that the story addresses, revealing the significance and meaning of each day.
The stories, themselves, are rich with opportunities for working with an elementary school class. Kari-Lynn Winters’ “Rhyme or Reason,” Audrey Schumacher’s “No NO Day,” and M.W. Penn’s “The Number Tree” are just three of the stories that would make interactive and exciting read-alouds for young students. Further activities for all of the stories are being prepared on the world of stories project website.
Dan Bar-el’s play, “Long John,” is a hilarious and modern tale of John Silverman as he tries to gain some sympathy for the pirates of the world on a daytime talk show. The play incorporates pirate talk in the body of the play and definitions along the border so that children (or adults like me) can later impress their mateys like a true buccaneer and avoid being a squiffy when September 19th rolls around. Aye, t’is true.
In “Seashell Island,” Christophe Jeunot takes a magical approach to revealing the significance of World Ocean Day (June 8th) and of sharing the natural environment. While the Mine Monster seeks to steal all of the seashells from the seashores, a little boy named Alex manages to show him that we are all connected to the natural world and each other. This story is both fantastical and subtle in showing the importance of working as a community and preserving natural habitats.
David Michael Slater and illustrator Izabela Bzymek reveal the strength needed to STAND UP to bullies in the wordless story “The Labyrinth.” The images symbolically capture the internal journey of a young boy who struggles to challenge a bully. Without the use of words, Bzymek does a brilliant job of leading the reader through the narrative and depicting the boy gathering strength.
The illustrators in this compilation use a variety of techniques to produce complicated and interesting visuals for children to read. Jayleen Weaver illustrated “Calling the Fish,” a story to recognize Grandparents Day (second Sunday in September). Her use of digital media creates crisp illustrations that set a feeling of natural tranquility and capture the wonder and whimsy of learning from grandparents.
While I enjoyed reading all of the stories and lingering over every illustration, my personal favourite was “If War Were…” by Mrs. Perry’s grade one class with artwork by Julia Karlinsky. Karlinsky reflects the children’s perspective in the poetry, and the children use powerful metaphors to reveal the impact of war.
Although I have highlighted only a portion of what can be found in A World of Stories, each narrative had a unique approach to conveying a holiday story. As a compilation, this book is also unique as the international holidays come together to create a portrait of the world by reflecting the values and concerns of the global community. All of the illustrations and stories weave educational information into entertaining and thoughtful stories. A World of Stories never disappoints; it gives us a little slice of who we are as individuals in the bigger picture of humanity.
Highly Recommended.
Brianne Grant is a student in the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature at the University of British Columbia, and Executive Councillor-West for IBBY Canada.
Interview with Lori Calabrese, published 9/2/2008
From loricalabrese.blogspot.com/2008/09/world-of-stories-author-interview-with.html:
A World of Stories: Author Interview with Kari-Lynn Winters
I had the pleasure of interviewing Kari-Lynn Winters in February about her first picture book, Jeffrey and Sloth, (read the previous interview with Kari-Lynn). Since then, Kari-Lynn has been on a roll. I’m honored to have her return to discuss her upcoming story entitled, “Rhyme or Reason”– part of an anthology called A World of Stories that is available September 8th.
A WORLD OF STORIES IS MORE THAN JUST A BOOK. It is an international community of people coming together to celebrate literacy, and help bring awareness to important issues that affect people from all over the world. It was created in partnership with Rotary District 5020 to raise money for literacy projects and is a collection of stories celebrating a variety of international holidays that can be celebrated worldwide, regardless of religious or cultural background. They are intended to be enjoyed with children 12 and under, but are also suitable for anyone learning to read English. Each story has a theme or message that relates in some way to the corresponding holiday, and each story will be introduced with some information about the day being celebrated. Educational materials will be available on The Gumboot Books website to help teachers and parents facilitate discussion and lesson planning around the themes covered in the book.
HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR RHYME OR REASON?
As a child I thought poetry had to rhyme. Yet, sometimes the words that rhymed were not the words that made the most sense. This humorous story plays on this idea. What’s more important? Rhyme or Reason?
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO GET FROM IDEA TO PUBLISHED WITH THIS BOOK?
2 years. I had to get the rhythm as perfect as I could. Also, I played with the idea of eye rhymes for awhile, but couldn’t get it to work.
WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU OFFER WRITERS ON WRITING POETRY?
My advice about writing poetry is to not force it, especially when working with full and slant rhymes. The meaning of the story needs to shine through. Also, try different formats. Each type of poem (e.g. rhyming couplets, haiku, acrostic) offers its own structure, allowing for different meanings and expressions.
COMPARE THE DIFFERENCES OF WRITING A PICTURE BOOK AND A STORY FOR AN ANTHOLOGY.
For this anthology, I had to figure out how to make a 32 page picture book (its original form) fit into 6 pages. I ended up combining some of the phrases, and taking out others. I think it works. Typically for me, my short stories are longer than my picture books-more descriptive and less reliant on the illustrations.
Speaking of illustrations, I am so pleased with Scot Ritchie’s illustrations for this piece. I was wondering how he would reveal the joke (i.e. the kid not getting the rhymes) in a way that would still carry the piece, offer surprise, show the dialogue between the two characters, and still feel like a kid’s story. I think the blackboard idea is marvelous. Rhyme or Reason solidified Scot’s and my working relationship. Currently we are working together on another project entitled, aRHYTHMetic (Gumboot books) due out in Spring, 2009. I’ve already seen the rough art. It’ll be great!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING BOOKS.
Currently I have 7 other books under contract. After aRHYTHMetic, comes Runaway Alphabet (Simply Read Books, forthcoming Fall 2009), an alphabet story like no other. Then, next fall look for When Chickens Fly (Gumboot Books, forthcoming Fall 2009), a story about a chicken who wants to be in the Olympics.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
I am passionate about literacy. When I saw the call for submissions for the A World of Stories Project, I knew that I needed to take part. This is a great project which supports community literacy. The project was created in partnership with Rotary District 5020 to raise money for literacy projects. “A World of Stories” is a collection of stories celebrating a variety of international holidays that can be celebrated worldwide, regardless of religious or cultural background. They are intended to be enjoyed with children 12 and under.
Thanks so much, Lori.
From Barb’s Book Bytes October 2008
(see original PDF)
A WORLD OF STORIES PROJECT
Gumboot Books and some key Canadian authors and a key Rotary sponsor have produced A WORLD OF STORIES (Gumboot Bks ‘08, 9780978435110). This book is a collection of stories chosen to celebrate a number of international holidays. My favourite piece is the one written by Kari-Lynn Winters for International Literacy Day. This book is being sold to raise funds to support literacy and the publisher is offering this book as a potential fund raiser for schools and groups. This collection does contain a weakness common in most collections. The quality of the contributions is uneven. The goal of the effort, however, is admirable. Contact Crystal J. Stranaghan at Gumbook books for more information about this title. She can be reached at: gumbootbooks@mac.com
Rhyme or Reason