Everything I need to know, I learned from a children’s book
Although we outgrow many things, the messages found in picture books are relevant at any age. Picture books selected from The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center lay the foundation for interactive sessions for audiences of all ages. Contact the center to select a theme and discuss the possibilities.
Louise Matthews
The Lone Ranger: A character of violence or an appropriate positive role model for the ages?
The story of the Lone Ranger is presented and illustrated by the speaker's Lone Ranger toy collection. In the early years, some members of society considered the Lone Ranger episodes to be violent and unsuitable, especially for children. An analysis of the history of the Lone Ranger and its creators and participants reveals their alternative values for that radio and television program. All participants are encouraged to bring an old Western related toy or a story about the Lone Ranger or Lone Ranger toys they may have had at one time.
Ronald Friesen
Fiction reading
As a fiction writer, Susan enjoys reading her work aloud to audiences, to talk about how a story came into being and what she learned from writing it. She's happy to discuss the craft of writing fiction, as well. Her recently-published novel, Riders on the Storm, is set in Cleveland, 1968, an interesting and scary time to be alive – not unlike today. Her published short stories include “The Invisible Hospital,” “The Night of the Exploding Kiwi,” “Journey Inland,” “The Body-Mind Connection” and “Earring Story.”
Susan Carpenter
The Writing of the Little House Books
Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote: "Dear Children, I lived everything that happened in the books." Many years later, I learned what she meant: she did, in a sense, "live everything that happened" in the books, but she also lived a great deal more. And she did not write events exactly as she lived them; in fact, the books were a collaborative project with her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. Why does a daughter insist that her mother take all the credit for authoring best sellers? What in those books really happened? Why are they so beloved?
Susan Carpenter
The Power of Fairy Tales
The main pleasure of the stories we call "fairy" tales is in the telling and retelling, preferably round a table or a fire in the evening. But there's also pleasure in thinking about them, in exploring the hold they have on us, because there is a hold: the stories we call "fairy tales" won't leave us alone. They've been with us in one form or another since before people kept written records, and they reappear over and over, changing content but keeping the same patterns. And they're full of mystery. The best fairy tales get more puzzling every time you revisit them. How many have fairies in them? Not many--although there is a fairy godmother and innumerable wicked stepmothers, along with giants, ogres, and brave young men and women whose good deeds are sometimes rewarded.
Susan Carpenter
Lessons from Life & Picture Books
Nearly everything we need to know as a child can be found in a picture book. Although we outgrow many things, messages in children's books are still relevant for students and adults. Incorporating literature, music and art, this session can be customized for any audience.
Louise Matthews
For more information or to schedule a speaker, contact the public relations office at news@bluffton.edu at least two weeks prior to your meeting.
