Saturday, November 2, 2013

Spreading Literacy with a "Click"



Bring on the Books!
I’m a little more than halfway through my Peace Corps adventure and I would like to ask you to become a big part of it. Inspired by a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer (thanks Emily Spiegel) and the contagious energy of my students, I’m asking for your help to make a positive change in my school. Part of my job as an Education Peace Corps Volunteer is to promote early grade reading and literacy at my school. Unfortunately, my school library lacks a variety of books and therefore students do not visit the library. It’s difficult to create a culture of reading when there are no books to read. It’s certainly not an easy problem to fix but with your help we can do it.

How Can I Help?
First, thank you for asking J.  Before I explain, let me tell you a little bit about Better World Books. Better World Books is a global bookstore with a mission to harnesses the power of capitalism to bring literacy and opportunity to people around the world. They collect donated books and distribute them to areas in need. Their website www.betterworldbooks.com will be our vehicle for change. All you need to do is purchase a book from their website and type in my address as the delivery address. The best part about Better World Books is that they offer free shipping! Shipping costs are usually half the battle. Many well intentioned people are sent running once they lay their eyes on the outrages fees associated with international shipping. I’m happy to finally say that beast is dead. With Better World Books, shipping fees are no longer a problem.

Instructions for Purchasing  Books
1) Choose a book (or as many as you like) from my wish list (posted below).
2) Go to www.betterworldbooks.com and use the search bar to find the book(s) of your choice. If applicable, choose the cheapest, used option. Please put the shipping address as… 
Name: Arthur Gary
Address Line 1: P.O. Box 36
City: Chagni
Province: Amhara (there is no postal code)
Country: Ethiopia
*Note shipping is free!
3) Send me an email at ajgary22@gmail.com indicating which book(s) you purchased so I can update the list for others.
4) Keep your eyes peeled for a thank-you email and pictures of my students on my blog (coming soon)

Book Wish List

Children’s Books (This list was created using book recommendations from several reliable websites. If you would like to donate a book that is not on the list and you feel that it’s appropriate for primary level EFL students, please feel free to send it our way).

A Bear Called Paddington
A Color of His Own
A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
A Chair for My Mother
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No good very bad day
Amazing Grace
Amelia Bedelia
Are You a Cow?
Are You My Mother?
A Very Hungry Caterpillar
A Wrinkle in Time
Basil of Baker Street
Ben’s Trumpet
Bernstein Bears Series 
Bark, George
Bread and Jam for Frances
Big Red Lollipop
Blackout
Black on White
Blue Hat, Green Hat
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Bud, Not Buddy
Caps for Sale
Cat in the Hat
Chato’s Kitchen
Clarice Bean, That’s Me
Chains
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlotte’s Web
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Clifford, the Big Red Dog
Counting Kisses: A Kiss and Read Book
Curious George
Dancing Feet!
Dear Zoo: A Lift-The-Flap Book
Diary of a Worm
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Dogger
Dr. Seuss's ABC
First 100 Words (picture book)
First Thousand Words in English
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Freight Train
Frog and Toad Are Friends
George and Martha
Giraffes Can't Dance
Go, Dog. Go!
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
Good Night, Gorilla
Goodnight Moon
Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Green Eggs and Ham
Guess how much I love you?
The Giving Tree
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
Holes
Horton Hatches the Egg
Horton Hears a Who
How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Hi! Fly Guy
Huggy Kissy
I'm a Big Sister
I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! By Dr. Seuss
I Took the Moon for a Walk
Island of the Blue Dolphins
If you give a Mouse a Cookie
If you give a Moose a Muffin
If you give a Pig a Pancake
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale
Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
Little Blue Truck
Little White Rabbit
Living Sunlight
Llama Llama Red Pajama
Madeline
Make Way For Ducklings
Mama Cat Has Three Kittens
Martin’s Big Words
Math Curse
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten
My Name is Yoon
My New Baby
Moo, Baa, La La La
Mouse Paint
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?: Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale
My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother
No, David!
No No Yes Yes
Number the Stars
Oh, the Places You’ll Go
Olivia and the Fairy Princesses
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Owl Moon
Pat the Bunny
Peek-a Who?
Press Here by Herve Tullet
Rainbow Fish
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Ramona the Pest
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hoban
Sleep Like a Tiger
Smile!
Stellaluna
Strega Nona
Stuart Little
Swimmy
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Sylvia Long’s Mother Goose
Taxi Dog
Tea with Milk
Ten, Nine, Eight
The Arrival
The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola
The Borrowers
The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
The Dark by Lemony Snicket
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?
The Elephant and the Bad Baby
The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites
The Hundred and One Dalmatians
The Little Prince
The Story of Babar
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
The Trumpet of the Swan
The BFG
The Dot
The Giver
The Giving Tree
The House at Pooh Corner
The Indian in the Cupboard
The Lion and the Mouse
The Little Engine That Could
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks
The Mitten
The Mixed-Up Chameleon
The Napping House
The Odd Egg
The Paper Bag Princess
The Polar Express
The Runaway Bunny
The Secret Garden
The Shape of My Heart
The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith
The Stinky Cheese Man
The Story of Ferdinand
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The Three Little Pigs
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Wind in the Willows
The Wonky Donkey
This is Not My Hat
Tuck Everlasting
The Snowy Day
There Was an Old Lady
Up, Tall and High!
What Do People Do All Day?
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
What's Under The Sea?
Where the Wild Things Are
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Where Is the Green Sheep?
Why Do Tigers Have Stripes? by Mike Unwin
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears
Winnie The Pooh
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Whoever You Are
Would you Rather… by John Burningham
Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog?

Zen Shorts
26 Letters and 99 Cents by Tana Hoban


Additional Resources (Most of the English teachers at my school do not have access to English language resource books. My English teachers need reference books and guides to assist them in teaching their students and to continue their own English learning. The following list of books would help my English teachers provide students with a sturdier English language education.


Natural Grammar by Scott Thornbury (3 copies)

Games in Teaching English as a Foreign Language by: Nomi Kun 

Teaching Grammar by: Jim Scrivener

 The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching English Language Learners of All Levels

The Good Grammar Book: A Grammar Practice Book for Elementary to Lower-Intermediate Students of English

Grammar Games: Cognitive, Affective and Drama Activities for EFL Students

Webster’s American English Dictionary (5 copies)

  
Amharic En ish, English Amharic Dictionary: A Modern Dictionary of the Amharic Language By: Endale Zenawi
         








The Power Of Books
“What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.” — Anne Lamott

“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” — Madeleine L’Engle

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all."
— Jacqueline Kennedy

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go."

  1. — Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

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