Showing posts with label #reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #reading. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

The Magic in a Book

The Magic in a Book.

I am blessed to have four distinct elements which define who I am. My family; nothing is more important to me than running our home, raising our children and caring for our animals these things are the heart of me, but they are not the whole. My teaching; since qualifying as a teacher in 1992 I have taught children from three years to eleven in a number of schools and for many of those years I led my own department. My writing; for many years this was nothing more than a hobby and only really became something I was able to give my attention to when I began to work part-time. 

Perhaps the aspect of me that people find the most surprising is my connection to spirit. Several years ago I had a profound spiritual encounter which not only changed the direction of my life but completely turned inside out my perception of this world through which we travel on the journey of our lives, and the enormity of what lies beyond. So these are the four distinct elements of me and it is when these elements come together and overlap that the stories are made.

I want to share with you a series of experiences and observations which together have helped to forge the person I am today and which enable me to view my world from a slightly different perspective. Whether you agree with me is a matter for your personal consideration, but still, I invite you to see the world as I do for there is a warmth and reassurance in this space which I find more palatable to the cold harshness of the conventional reality which most choose to live in.

As a teacher of many years, I have been privy to watching hundreds of children learn to read and over and again as I watch with wonder the process these children undertake on their road to literacy I am struck by the same overwhelming realization. ‘Children learn to read by magic.’

I know, I know; I can hear the clamour of outcry from my fellow educationalists. ‘What about cognition?’ You cry, ‘Learning is the process of building up the links between the synapses in your brain. The more these networks are travelled the deeper the learning is embedded.’ 

Of course, I know there is science to learning but I’m not talking about the science, I’m talking about my observation’s and the wonder unfolding before my eyes and to me this process is magical. 
When those three-year-olds begin school many have little experience with books. I’ve seen children rip them, bend them, throw them and even eat them; for what else is there to do with a pile of coloured sheets of paper. That is where the magic begins; as gently we tell them, ‘No’. Then we read to them the story and unlock the wonder hidden within the pages which they hold. They look at us with surprise and we share the pictures and tell them they can read this for themselves just by looking at the pictures, and then they do.

 After a while they notice the squiggly things at the bottom of the page and we tell them they are called letters and words and ask if they want to learn how to read them and they say ‘yes’ so we show them the phonics and how we blend the sounds and we tell them they can make words and read words for themselves; and then they do.

Next, we provide them with simple books with lots of words which they know, full of repetition and laden with rhythm and rhyming and they use their memories to learn these books and we tell them they are reading and they are.

Now we sprinkle this with fun and we read to them each day; a diet of fairy tales, breathtaking adventure, amazing wonders and side-splitting laughs which carry their imaginations to their limits and beyond and we tell them they can read too; ‘they can read too.’
Slowly we give them more difficult books to read for themselves with more complex words, less repeating and less rhyme and they look at us with apprehension glinting in their eyes; but then with a smile, for there is magic in these words, we tell them ‘you can read this;’ and they do. 
Every day we tell them for the magic to work well; YOU CAN DO THIS! YOU’RE A READER! WOW, YOU’RE DOING REALLY WELL!

And finally, the magic is complete as you sit back and watch that book thrower, page bender, spine eater, flap ripper. Go to select a tasty morsel from the bookshelf and carry it with reverence to the cushion by the window and open it with excitement and they read it for themselves.

How I know it’s magic? Well, you may all disagree but without the magic words of praise, and the wonder in the books our tiny paper munches will continue eating books!

Many times student teachers have asked me how children learn to read; where do we start with such a huge and complex task and I always tell them the same thing. “Ah it’s magic; let me show you the spell.”

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Erika M Szabo shared this via Google+

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Tricia Drammeh via Google+

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Meet author N.L. Osguthorpe on #OurAuthorGang!
 
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P. J. Mann via Google+

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
What a lovely post about teaching and learning.
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Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Author N.L.Osguthorpe shares the true magic of learning to read on #OurAuthorGang today. Great post!!
 
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Ruth de Jauregui

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Oh my gosh, reading IS magic. Thank you for this lovely post!
 
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nicola L Osguthorpe

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Thanks for your comment everyone I'm glad you enjoyed it. Working with children brings a special kind of magic into my life everyday.
 
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Joe Bonadonna

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Most excellent post!
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Joe Bonadonna via Google+

2 months ago (edited)  -  Shared publicly
 
Today on #OurAuthorGang . . . Author N.L.Osguthorpe shares her experiences with the "magic" of books.
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Chris Weigand via Google+

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Reading is Magic with N. L. Osguthorpe.
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Chris Weigand

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Love it. Great article. I have always felt that reading was magic and spreads magic.
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Toi Thomas via Google+

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today, we welcome author N. L. Osguthorpe to share The Magic in a Book.
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Saturday, June 2, 2018

Book Cover Contest #OurAuthorGang

Book Cover Contest June 2-9

THE WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED ON THIS PAGE:
https://asmallgangofauthors.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-winners-of-book-cover-contest-at.html

THE VOTING IS CLOSED



Hello everyone! Welcome to our first friendly Book Cover Contest!
Thank you, authors, for submitting so many amazing book covers, and thank you, readers, for voting for the best covers.

The Author Gang members: Erika, Grace, Mary Anne, Joe, Ruth, Toi, Chris, Lorraine, Nicola, and Rebecca. Click on our pages on the menu bar and read about us.

Grace volunteered to host the Cover Contest submission on her Facebook page, and Erika, our designer (Okay, they call me boss, but I'm not bossy at all. Right guys?), organized the event. At the Author Gang, everything is done as a group, and our motto is: "All for one and one for all." Yeah, we stole it from the Musketeers, but it really fits our group and group work.

The voting begins today, June 2nd.
On Saturday, June 9th, one winner of each main genre (nine winners) will receive a beautiful "Best Book Cover Award" badge that may be added to your cover, and the books will be in the spotlight on our blog for one week.
(We combined fiction and non-fiction into one group because only one non-fiction book was entered)

VOTING RULES:
Comment on this post with the TITLE & GENRE of the book you like most and tell us what you like about the cover. 
If you like more than one cover, vote for each book separately.
Your vote will be disqualified if you add more than ONE book title per comment.
Authors voting for their own book is unethical.

NAME OUR MASCOT:
This handsome fella is our Author Gang's virtual mascot of the cover contest. We can't decide on a name for him, so we call him Stopthat or Dontchewthat because he just has that kind of eager to please, goofy face.
Give our mascot a fitting name and win a prize.


In comments write NEW NAME and add the name you choose for our mascot.
The Author Gang will vote for the best name and one winner gets a prize:
If you're an author, Erika will design a GIF for your books, similar to the ones on the sidebar for the Author Gang authors. 
If you're a reader, your favorite author will get the GIF for their books.










FICTION & NON-FICTION
Because only one non-fiction book entered (the 12th book in this category) it would surely be a winner having no competition. Therefore, votes for the non-fiction book will be counted with the fiction books.





























 




 

VOTING RULES:
Comment on this post with the TITLE & GENRE of the book you like most and tell us what you like about the cover. 
If you like more than one cover, vote for each book separately.
Your vote will be disqualified if you add more than ONE book title per comment.
Authors voting for their own book is unethical.

THE WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED ON THIS PAGE:
https://asmallgangofauthors.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-winners-of-book-cover-contest-at.html

THE VOTING IS CLOSED


COMMENTS

Erika M Szabo

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
THE VOTING IS CLOSED.
The votes left in comments after 6pm ET June 9th will not be counted!
The winners will be announced Sunday, June 10th, before noon, ET.
Thank you authors for submitting so many amazing book covers, and thank you readers for voting for the best covers. It's been a great contest and the Author Gang is excited to count the votes and announce the winners.
Good luck everyone!
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Erika M Szabo

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
So many great covers, good luck to the contestants!
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Susan Hawthorne

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
So exciting, but Fiction (was listed originally as General Fiction) and Non Fiction are lumped together? It's a little confusing. And I'd think the covers would be strikingly different?
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Susan There was only one non-fiction book entered so there is no competition. Therefore, the votes for the non-fiction book will be counted with the fiction books. I think the word Fiction covers general fiction :) When covers are not entered in even numbers to each genre, we have to improvise to be fair
 
That makes sense but the page lists fiction with nothing under it, then
nonfiction with several books listed below it. Perhaps if you listed it as
Fiction and Non Fiction it would work better.
I don't actually recall non fiction being listed as a choice?

Μαρία Βερμίσογλου via Google+

8 months ago (edited)  -  Shared publicly
 
Ψηφίστε το εξώφυλλο που σας αρέσει. Vote for your favorite cover:
Mine is in the Fantasy section prior to last. The cursed girl - Maria Vermisoglou.

https://asmallgangofauthors.blogspot.com/2018/06/book-cover-contest-ourauthorgang.html?spref=fb
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Betty Olsen

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Paranormal:  Deathly Darkness by Victoria Zak
Love this cover-the colors stand out so much.
 
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Khaled Talib

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Division: Sci-Fi Books: Intense, thrilling, action-packed.
 

Khaled Talib

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Nine Lives: Sci-Fi Books. Sinister, riveting.
 

Khaled Talib

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Amanda in New Mexico: Children's Books. It's intriguing and mysterious.
 

Khaled Talib

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Feather of the Blue Heron: Fiction and Non-Fiction. The cover's design and color are calming.
 

jr wirth

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Losing Time-- a bit of intrigue in the cover
 
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Toi Thomas via Google+

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
It's almost over. Get your votes in now... I'm so excited!
 
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Susan Hawthorne

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Horror
The devil's Lieutenant
It looks spooky, but I like the cheeky look on the man's face as he turns to look at us, that grabbed me.
 
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Susan Hawthorne

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Paranormal
The Veiled Path to Destiny
Again I like the Ethereal quality of this cover, it draws me in.
 
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Susan Hawthorne

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Romance
Dancing with Armando
Love the Ethereal look of this cover
 
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Susan Hawthorne

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Fantasy
The Namarielle
I love the reflection in this cover
 
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Christelle Barbe

7 months ago (edited)  -  Shared publicly
 
I like the cover(fantasy) Nyasia A. Maire- The Heretic's child. I just love the white and gold it's a beautiful cover makes me want to read it
 
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Dyrkus Conradus

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Forgotten Soldiers by Neal Sayatovich - Fiction
It's simple, yet powerful, and holds meaning true to the story.
 
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Author Anna Applegate

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I love The Witch’s Touch Cover BY Rosie Wylie-Owen. The book lit up the way it is fantastic and the front is perfect for the genre!!!
 
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zoran Bencic

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Horror: Jelena Hrvoj- Perunika. Because it is original and scary, when i see ithow i am not sure to read.or not.to.read because i am.afraid what i will.find. New dog name : Lacky
 
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Chris Weigand via Google+

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Only a few more days to vote for your favorite covers.
 
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Peggy Collins

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Deadly Darkness by Victoria Zak. The deep colors create an intense picture of the story.


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