Tuesday, November 3, 2015

For the Love of Reading- National Book Foundation's Book Up is Here in Huntsville Because of a Hornet

Every week, a dedicated group of Huntsville ISD kids board a bus & travel from the Walker County Boys and Girls After School Program to the campus of Sam Houston State University for Book Up, a very special book group for kids.
What a beautiful picture!
Huntsville ISD kids & National Book Foundation BookUp members on the campus of Sam Houston State University

They are here with SHSU Professor and Huntsville Hornet Amanda Nowlin-O'Banion. They spend the afternoon on the fourth floor of a SHSU Academic building in a hi-tech conference room talking about...books!

Helllllllloooooo Sam Houston State!!
This week, the book was The Screaming Staircase, which is part of the Lockwood & Company series by Jonathan Stroud.

Awesome! It's the Screaming Staircase!!!

Taking turns reading aloud.

They read, discuss and create a project based on a theme presented in the book.  This week, after reading a passage, they created Instagram posts that the main character might post in the story. What would his "status" be?  What happens next?  They were also encouraged to include a hashtag (e.g. #getmeoutofhere!  #letsdothis  #spooky ).

Can someone say "#Yikes"?!

And when they leave for the day, they take the book with them- it's theirs to keep!

This is MY copy, thank-you-very-much!!

Get on the Bus!  Huntsville ISD provides the transportation for the program.


This opportunity is a rare one.  Huntsville is only one of only two communities outside of New York, the home of National Book Foundation, with BookUp sites (the other being Detroit).  And it's because of Huntsville High School alum Professor Nowlin-O'Banion.


Please do not disturb- meeting in progress!

No caption needed. :-)
Professor Nowlin-O'Banion is a prose writer who attended New York University. She enjoyed her time there, but later returned to Texas where she still writes and teaches at the University.

Professor Nowlin- O'Banion, and...

a Book Up member agree- take my picture so I can get to the fun part!!!
She brought this program to our schools, and is also responsible for an annual event that happens in the Spring.

It must remain clear to all that BookUp! is a strictly serious activity.

The National Book Foundation is a non-profit focussed on promoting reading and writing, and is most famous for presenting the National Book Awards.  Each year, the Foundation honors exemplary works in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry and Young People's Literature through one of the most prestigious writing awards in the world.  Past winners include William Faulkner, Alice Walker and Eudora Welty.

Thank you SHSU Mass Comm Small Group Communications, for helping out this week!


Later this month, Nowlin-O'Banion will travel to New York City where she will attend the awards ceremony celebrating the finalists and announcing the winners.  While there, she will begin preparations to bring three of those writers back to Huntsville.

There is nothing quite like opening a book and reading the first page!
That's because Sam Houston State University annually hosts an event called,  
The National Book Award at Sam Houston.  



Sam Houston State University is the home of 
National Book Awards at Sam Houstoncoming in March 2016. 
This photo was taken by a BookUp! member on the bus to this week's meeting. 

Selected authors come to Huntsville for three days of readings, lectures and community events.  SHSU is continuing its invitation to Huntsville ISD to participate in the celebration, and we'll be hosting a Finalist in Young People's Literature at one of our schools in March 2016.



Allow me to explain my Instagram post...


Prof. Nowlin-O'Banion got help this week from SHSU undergraduates & Mass Communication (COMM 3383) students, as wells as Diane Balderas and Alissa Lamb of the Walker County Boys and Girls' Club.  And Huntsville ISD Transportation answered the call when they needed weekly transportation.  It's gratifying to see these various groups, local and national, all coming together to bring this reading program to our kids.  Oh and it's fun, too!!

People of Huntsville Book Up, Represent!


Moms picking up their kids after work-- "What did you do today?"
Shhhhh please- I'm reading!

Thank you for the ride, Victor, and we will see you next week!

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