Nashville Has More Than Country Music - Check Out The Library!

Nashville may be known as Music City, but did you also know the downtown has one of the coolest libraries for kids, ever??

Pictures From the Road...
Road trips are really a great way to see this great country of ours!  My husband and I both came from families who drove across the U.S.  We enjoyed it so much, we did several road trips with our own children.

And now, my daughter and her husband are continuing the tradition!  One of their stops was Nashville, TN, where they decided to make a stop at the Nashville Public Library (Main Branch).

They began their library visit at the Story Time Theatre, where the library's resident performing arts company - Wishing Chair Productions - presents a variety of shows each month featuring puppets, songs, juggling and more.

The children's department is over 25,000 sq. feet of space, with a reading area nestled within a replica of Nashville's skyline!

There is also a child-size replica of the famed Ryman Auditorium, where kids can put on their own puppet shows (puppets provided).

I hope you enjoyed this little tour.

If you've been to this gorgeous library, feel free to sing its praises in the comment section!  And if you don't live near Nashville, tell me about an amazing library you've been to (maybe it's right in your own town)!

Road Trip Sightseeing: Storybooks Around Every Corner (Well, Almost)!

Of course our road trip itinerary had to include stops at some libraries. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that storybooks and storybook characters are alive and well in the Mid-west - but not just in libraries...

Kansas City, Missouri - Storybook Parking? 
Check out the K.C. Public Library's awesome parking garage!  It is the highlight of the city's library district, situated across from the Central Library.  Each book spine is a 9-by-25-foot rectangle!

Historic St. Louis - Libraries and Pinnochio in a Park!
Loved this old branch library that we drove past.

We found some good St. Louis BBQ for dinner (thanks to my daughter and Yelp) and took it with us to Citygarden Park in downtown St. Louis. It's a fun place to have a picnic - lots of fountains and statues, including Pinocchio! 

I took this photo of the beautiful St. Louis Central Public Library after hours.  So sad we couldn't pop in for a visit!  (Go here for a virtual history tour.)

Fun in a Chicago library - A Storybook Dollhouse!
Downtown Chicago's grand old neoclassical style Public Library, located across from Millennium Park, no longer houses books - it is now the City Cultural Center.

The new Central Library is the impressive post-modernist style Harold Washington Library...

There is a beautiful winter garden on the 9th floor, but we only had time to check out the children's library with my grandson.

We discovered a fun Storybook Dollhouse, full of tiny characters, animals, and objects - clues to over 75 children's books, poems, and nursery rhymes!  If you're ever traveling through Chicago with children, make a quick rest stop at the library and play a fun game of "I Spy".  Here were some of our favorites...

See the shadow in the bureau drawer?

Who's this Crocodile in the tub?

See the Giant Peach? Collie? Wanted Poster of a "Dirty Dog"?

Recognize this bear in the yellow hat?  How about that Little Lamb?

Dorothy and Toto in Lincoln Park, IL?
Yes, along with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion. Where?  At Oz Park, of course!

Children's Library in Highland Park, IL - Storybooks and...Hampsters!

My daughter took some fun pictures of the inside the wonderful Highland Park Public Library (near her new home) for me when she visited the children's area with my grandson.

The library even has little hamster friends for the kids named "Yankee Doodle" and "Dandy".

Hope you enjoyed this little tour - get out there and explore libraries (you might be surprised at what you find along the way!)

Road Tripping Through Laura Ingalls Wilder Country...(or: "The Yellow Brick Road Trippers")

With the help of Roadtrippers.com, our daughter has planned some adventures and sightseeing for us as we make the looong drive from California in order deliver her and our grandson - and their "stuff" - safely to her husband near Chicago, Illinois.

Kansas, the "Sunflower State" - source

After traveling to Utah's Zion National Park and some sites in Grand Junction, Colorado, we're moving on to....Kansas!

Yes, we'll be road tripping through Dorothy Gale and Laura Ingalls Wilder country on our way across several Midwestern states to Illinois...

The Road to Oz...
I'm hoping we can visit the OZ Museum in Wamego, KS!

According to the Kansas Historical Society website,
Kansans have mixed feelings for Baum and his story. Dorothy, a little girl from Kansas, lives in a bleak, drab environment...The Kansas Baum describes was based on his experiences living in South Dakota in the 1880s.  Many Kansans found this description of Kansas unjust and untrue...but after having traveled through the colorful and exciting Land of Oz, Dorothy exclaims as she taps together the heels of her ruby slippers, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Many Kansans point to Dorothy's desire as the more important message of the work.

The "Real" Little House on the Prairie...

This map shows the Ingalls' family travels in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Unfortunately our route won't take us as far south as Independence, Kansas, to see a replica of the real Little House on the Prairie...

  

...so we'll just have to settle for a tour in the video below from the awesome website about Laura Ingalls, Frontier Girl.

 

In 1869, the Ingalls' family moved to this location, 12 miles southwest of Independence, Kansas. They stayed here about a year before returning to their earlier home in Pepin, Wisconsin. Laura Ingalls Wilder was only 3 when the family lived in Kansas, but when she started writing the "Little House" books, she based Little House on the Prairie on memories of her older family members: Pa, Ma, and Mary. The Michael Landon television series Little House on the Prairie was not set at this location, but at Walnut Grove, Minnesota, where the family moved in 1874. The small Little House on the Prairie cabin at this location is a recreation [of the original home] based on the description found in the book. The foundation of a small house believed to have been the home of the Ingalls' family, was found at this location in 1977.  [source: kansastravel.org]

(Click here for my past post about Laura Ingalls Wilder.)

Did Someone Say Car-schooling?

Yes, "Car-schooling" - it's when you turn travel time into learning time (it's also the title of a book by Diane Flynn Keith.  I recently came across an interview with Jim Weiss about his educational and highly entertaining story recordings on Diane's Carschooling website - here.)

Have you entered my SUMMER GIVEAWAY for one of Jim Weiss' CDs?  Go here for details - last day to enter is July 2, 2013.  Three (3) lucky winners will be able to chose a Jim Weiss Storytelling Recording from Greathall Productions. Jim's CDs are a fun way to CAR-SCHOOL while you're on that summer road trip!!!

Besides reading aloud good literature or listening to entertaining audio story recordings while on the road, here are some additional car-schooling ideas:

• Make a travel journal/scrapbook.  Start it at home - with a map of where you're going and maybe some fun stickers glued onto the cover of a spiral notebook or sketchpad - then add to it during the trip as you buy postcards and they dictate or write about what they see each day. Leave empty spaces for photos so the kids can finish it when you're back home and have your pictures developed.
• Make road trip activity bags for each child.  I love this idea of themed (like "ocean" and "zoo") activity bags, here from The Peaceful Mom. Include car friendly activities such as crossword puzzles, dot-to-dot books, word searches, and mad libs, to name a few.
• Teach your kids map skills.  Bring along a map or atlas just for your kids. You can purchase maps that are laminated or you can print one from the Internet. Highlight your route, marking stops and sights, then put the map in a sheet protector in their travel journal/scrapbook.
• Create a Road Trip Music Playlist.  Our kids loved helping us download favorite tunes to make fun playlists for our trips.  We included a large variety of music that the whole family could enjoy - including jazz and classical music (Carnival of the Animals was very popular, as was Route 66!)
• Bring healthy snacks to keep kids happy. Water bottles, cheese sticks, granola bars, fruit, nuts, dried fruit...

Do you have any summer road trip tips (or tricks) to share?

Summer is a Time for Stories! Don't Miss These...

Giveaway time! What have I got to make that summer road trip a little bit easier?  Story Recordings!

I've partnered with Greathall Productions to give away three Jim Weiss Storytelling CDs!

My SUMMER GIVEAWAY STARTS TOMORROW, but today I want to introduce you to Jim Weiss and review some of his recordings.

"Jim Weiss is a master narrator especially when it comes to 
conversation…he takes on persona easily, 
male or female, young or old…" 

—AudioFile 

Jim Weiss brings stories to life with his voice, which is at once soothing and spellbinding.  He doesn't have the benefit of costumes or props, yet he has no trouble holding kids' (or their parents') attention. And he plays the part of a wide range of characters!

As I listened recently to Jim Weiss' skillful telling of The Jungle Book I was transported to Kipling's jungle - Jim does all the voices, of course: Mowgli; his "brothers" the Wolves; Bagheera; Baloo the Bear; Shere Khan; Messua (Mowgli's human mother); and more! 

Our family first came across Jim Weiss' stories back in the 1990's, through our homeschooling connections. The audio recordings (cassettes in those days!) were perfect to listen to on summer road trips. Our kids were entranced! 

Jim and his wife started Greathall Productions ("Intelligent entertainment for the thinking family") in 1989 and to date have produced over 47 storytelling recordings! You can navigate their website and not only find CD recordings grouped by age listening level, but also hear samples of many of the recordings.

Our family's favorite Jim Weiss storytelling recordings:
ARABIAN NIGHTS (ages 5 and up) We were definitely transported by these eloquently told tales of Scheherazade, including Jim's retelling of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves".

SHE & HE: ADVENTURES IN MYTHOLOGY (ages 5 and up)  This collection of several well-known Greek Myths was a perfect compliment to our unit study of Greece.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (ages 8 and up).  My husband and I were as entranced by Jim Weiss' retelling of these Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson stories as our kids!

Not to be Missed:
THE JUNGLE BOOK - If you think you know the whole story from the Disney movie, guess again!  Your kids will love Weiss's tellings of the stories of Rudyard Kipling: "Mowgli's Brothers"; "Tiger! Tiger"; "Red Dog"; and "The Spring Running". (ages 7 and up)

AMERICAN TALL TALES - These uproarious American folk stories will have you laughing out loud...You'll meet Paul Bunyan, taller than the trees and mightier than the rivers; Johnny Appleseed, whose gentle generosity make him a beloved legend; and Pecos Bill, whose outrageous Texas-sized exploits make him the greatest of all cowboys. (ages 5 and up)

BEST LOVED STORIES IN SONG AND DANCE - Three favorite tales (for girls and boys): "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"; "The Sleeping Beauty"; "Snow White and Rose Red".

Unabridged Narrated Books (these will not be included in my Giveaway, but I had to mention them!):
CARRY ON, MR. BOWDITCH (unabridged, ages 8 and up). A Newberry winner, the book is based on the the real life of Nathanael Bowditch, inventor of a new method for sea navigation: lunar reckoning. The story is set during the American Revolution, and is a touching biography of a worthy hero. I read this book to my kids, but I wish we would have had this recording! (6 1/2 hours on 6 CDs)
COME ON, SEABISCUIT!  - This is not the Hollywood version of this remarkable story! read my past post here.  (3 1/2 hours on 4 CDs)

Be sure to stop back by my blog tomorrow for details about how to enter my SUMMER GIVEAWAY of Jim Weiss Storytelling Recordings (giveaway runs 6/25 - 7/2/13)...  good luck!