Guest Author: Claire Parrish, Public Services Director, Rice Lake Public Library
Rice Lake Public Library is working on a Big Read grant with several community and regional partners. We have lots of exciting events coming up that I wanted to share with you! To find out all the details about the project, check out the website: http://wisconsinreads.org/
Birchbark House
Kits
Along with the many activities that will accompany Big Read book
discussions for Louise Erdrich’s novel The Round House, Wisconsin Reads
has developed a kit that librarians and patrons can use to carry out youth
programming for Erdrich’s novel The Birchbark House.
Each kit will include 6 copies of The Birchbark House, craft
projects, a map of tribal lands, a card game for learning some Ojibwe language,
a foods project, as well as journaling and discussion questions. A
majority of the supplies are provided, but some crafts require extra
supplies. Wisconsin Reads The Round
House can also provide a poster to help you advertise your events to the public.
Many of the kit activities are hands-on, helping youth explore
characters and themes in The Birchbark House. Set in the 1800’s, the
novel describes an Ojibwe family living on the Island of the
Golden-Breasted Woodpecker (Madeline Island) in Lake Superior. In addition to
seasons, hardship, and family and community bonds, the book traces the
childhood of Omakayas, who is destined to follow in the footsteps of her
Grandmother Nokomis, a healer.
The kit allows for an exploration of Ojibwe culture, and
includes extensive bibliographies for librarians and information about helping
to promote more awareness of American Indian resources through Act 31.
RLPL is using the kits with our Boys and Girls Club book club
students, who are all in 3rd and 4th grade. We’ve made it a few chapters in so
far, and they are really enjoying the story and learning more about the Native
tribes who live in our area.
Rice Lake, Lac Courte Oreille, Baraboo, and Marshfield each have
six kits available for checkout. If you are interested, you can request them
through MORE or WISCAT, and we send them through courier.
I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about how we
partners with UW Colleges or if you want more detail about the project.
715-234-4861 ext. 117
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