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Whootie Owl's Newsletter July 2004 |
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Whootie Owl's Newsletter July 2004 |
Hello, Storylovers!
Welcome to the July 2004 Newsletter for "Absolutely Whootie: Stories to Grow By"
New Story of the Month - "The Chief's Knife" (Nigeria)
LONG AGO in Nigeria the chief held a great feast. When the feast was over, the chief discovered that one of his valuable knives was missing.
Soon soldiers were sent around to scour the countryside. Who was the culprit? In one village, the people cast a suspicious eye on a certain young hunter. After all, wasn't he at the feast? And doesn't a hunter need a knife?
The hunter strongly denies the charge but even this makes the villagers more suspicious. They remark that the hunter leaves to go hunting before daybreak and doesn't return until dusk - certainly he must be staying away because he is embarrassed about his shameful deed. He talks very little - another incriminating sign.
One day, a messenger announces that the chief had found his knife. Suddenly the people see the hunter in a new light. They remark what a hard worker he is. They admire how he leaves early in the morning and doesn't return until late at night. They say it is a fine thing when a man talks only when he has something to say: "One need only look at him to see that he is an honest man."
*Book source: Retold from "Olode the Hunter and Other Tales from Nigeria" by Harold Courlander, published by Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., New York, 1968, pages 50-53.
Whootie Owl's Free Bedroom Door Sign!
Click here to view and print Whootie Owl's Free Bedroom Door Sign - second in a series and featuring a castle! Just print the image from the computer, ask your child to add his or her name to it, and decorate the bedroom door like none other!
Note: If you have Acrobat Reader in your computer, the link above at "Click here" will take you to a PDF file that will automatically open Whootie Owl's Free Bedroom Door Sign. If the page does not appear when you click the link below, then click here for your free download of Acrobat Reader.
KIDS WHISPER TO WHOOTIE
*from JUNE 2004*
Here is one response:
Sadia, age 9, responds to Whootie Owl's folk tale from Spain, The Girl-Fish:
"The girl went to so much trouble to recover the queen's crown because she wanted to be an human and when she came to the queen's palace the queen made her feel welcome. I thought the story was AWESOME because I learned lots of lessons that I could use in my own life."
Here is another response:
Rabeena, age 12, responds to Whootie Owl's folk tale from Libya, The Sons of Sultan Bey:
"The youngest son of Sultan Bey learned that love doesn't always show itself on a maiden's face - sometimes you have to look deeper within a soul to find true love. The two oldest sons were greedy because they thought gold meant power. The youngest son Ali learned the most important thing, something he thought was more important then gold, was love. That proved to the sultan that Ali was wiser then his two brothers and he was fit for the throne. I THINK THIS STORY IS AWESOME!! It has a really great message on how you don't always get what you the easy way, you have to fight for it, and also things aren't what they seem, which Ali learned when he saw what the princess was truly like."
Following are several responses to yet another story:
A sampling on Whootie Owl's Danish folk tale Greyfoot.
QUESTION #1: Why did the princess love Greyfoot?
"She loved Greyfoot because when she met him she knew he would love her. Whhe saw him she felt she would be safe, and she would be taken care of." (John Paul, age 9)
"The princess loved the prince because he was very charming especially when he asked her funny questions. Also because he was handsome in his clean clothes." (Natlie, age 11)
"She fell in love with him because she saw his eyes and realized she loved him. Greyfoot was a rich man, but he had to pretend he was poor. The princess thought he was handsome." (Irma, age 9)
"The princess loved Greyfoot because he was sweet. He was also kind. He was nice to her and he cared for her. The princess also loved the prince because he was handsome. He was also a happy prince. He wasn't mean. Greyfoot was not grouchy either. The princess like to be with Greyfoot. He made her feel good. She also loved the prince because he had a job and when he would get his money he would give her money. She also loved him because he had nice and handsome eyes." (Angela, age 10)
"She loved the prince because she fell in love with him because of the way he looked after the princess dressed him. Also the princess loved the prince because he was handsome, smart, and also he was very educated." (Mayra, age 9)
"The princess loved Greyfoot because she fell in love with his charm especially after he was dressed appropriately. She also loved Greyfoot because he was smart and handsome." (Paula, age 10)
QUESTION #2: How did learning to love Greyfoot change the princess?
"Learning to love Greyfoot changed the princess because she learned poor people have feelings of love for other people." (John Paul, age 9)
"She loved Greyfoot because she knew that she would be safe with him, and he would love her a lot." (Natlie, age 11)
"The princess learned that poor people have feelings too, and you should not judge people by the way they look." (Irma, age 9)
"The story changed the princess because the princess never cared for anybody. But when she decided to marry the prince she became a nice and caring person. She wasn't mean anymore to people. She was nice to people even if she didn't know them." (Angela, age 10)
"Greyfoot changed the princess because she became very nice when she started to love him." (Mayra, age 9)
"Greyfoot changed the princess. She became very nice when she started to love him. I think she got a lot better by loving Greyfoot." (Paula, age 10)
"Getting to know Greyfoot changed the princess when she saw the nice things that Greyfoot did. So when she saw that Greyfoot was in the carriage and her husband was in there she told the carriage driver to stop. Why did she tell the carriage driver to stop? Why? Why do you think she told the carriage driver to stop? I think she said that because the love of Greyfoot had changed her." (Sadia, age 9)
"Probably because whoever wanted to marry her was not kind, and Greyfoot was kind, and never got mad." (Sahar, age 8)
QUESTION #3: What do you think about this story?
"That the story was beautiful, wonderful, interesteing, and was very nice. I liked the story a lot. That is what I think about the story." (John Paul, age 9)
"I thought the story was very good. It had a great beginning, middle, and ending. I also think more people should come and read this story." (Natlie, age 11)
"I think that the story was good because it teaches you a lesson. Never judge people by the way they look." (Irma, age9)
"The part I liked about the story was that after the princess's father forced her to marry the prince she did marry him because she loved him very much, and also I liked the story because she changed her ways of being bossy." (Mayra, age 9)
"I liked this book a lot because after her father forced the princess to marry Greyfoot she became nice in ways she never was before. I also liked this book because he asked her the silliest questions. For example, is the sky blue? Is the grass green? The story helped me understand that you should never judge a person by the way they dress or look." (Paula, age 10)
"I think the story was great because I learned something that I could never FORGET. Remember this lesson because you could find it USEFUL in your life." (Sadia, age 9)
"I thought it was a good story with a happy ending, and it teaches you a lesson." (Sahar, age 8)
Now back to comments from kids last month about Whootie Owl's web site:
Unnamed child, age 10:
"I don't know how you do it Whootie, these stories rock, man! Keep up the good work."
Jo, child 13 or over:
"This is a very good site and I recommend it to all people looking for plays as they are here."
ADULTS WHISPER TO WHOOTIE
*from JUNE 2004*
Lisa Conran, teacher:
"I feel character education is an incredibly important piece of education in this day and age! I teach in an inner city school where the students are exposed to a lot of drugs, violence, and gangs. I am trying to incorporate a character education curriculum school-wide as my 4th grade students have not been respecting themselves and each other."
Teacher from the Lincoln YMCA CDP,
"I enjoyed this site a lot. I will bring stories for our summer reading program. Thanks a bunch :)
-from a happy supervisor"
Maria Hepel, teacher from Poland:
"Dear Whootie Owl,
I am an English teacher from Sulechow (in Poland). I teach young children. On 2nd of May this year we performed Ali Coglia and the Merchant of Baghdad. In the program we informed our viewers where we had chosen the story from using your banner. The play was shown only once but the most important is that my students had great fun while preparing it. I had to make it shorter and easier but I am very grateful for your inspiration. I hope I'll prepare another play next year."
Parent, anonymous:
"I work for a library and I plan to use your story to do a flannel board for the children where I work."
Stella, teacher:
"It's an interesting newsletter that I found searching the web!!!"
Jen Ward, teacher:
"This is a wonderfully educational site in the drama area. Thank you to the creators and webmaster."
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Hoots from Whootie Owl!
Absolutely Whootie: Stories to Grow By
"Where Education & Inspiration Intersect"
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Recommended to our nation's teachers by DISNEY
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©Copyright 1998-2004 Elaine Lindy -- All rights reserved.
E-mail: whootieowl@storiestogrowby.com
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