So, where was I? Right. Why do I love Literacyhead? Because, as you can see at this page<\/a><\/strong> of their site, the folks over there love children’s literature and art (“the connections between the two make us positively giddy”); they want to “help teachers nurture their creative lives while they meet the demands of high accountability to which they are subject”; and they “believe that the arts are a basic component of a healthy life, not an afterthought or a bonus if there is time or funding.” <\/p>\n So, taking these beliefs, they use art to assist teachers in illustrating to children the writing process, to support comprehension of books, and to provide writing workshops. They also provide book recommendations, essays, reviews, visual aids and graphic organizers, and much more. I’m not currently in a school library and haven’t tried this out, but their work sounds impressive to me, and I wanted to hand the blog over to them today so that they could tell us more. (Yes, when you catch me facing a manuscript deadline, you get to interview yourself at 7-Imp, and I’m glad they were game.)<\/p>\n Oh, best thing of all about Literacyhead? They believe “that art is the most promising catalyst for social change,” and<\/em> they “want children to begin to think that they need and deserve beauty in their lives.” Finger snap. Head roll. They are kindred souls, you see. If you read my blog at all, you know I second these beliefs. I mean, check out this page<\/a><\/strong>: There are galleries for Taeeun Yoo<\/a><\/strong>, Shadra Strickland<\/a><\/strong>, Jon J Muth<\/a><\/strong>, and more. The illustration junkie in me is swooning. <\/p>\n These are people, I can tell you with assurance, who deeply love children’s books and art. As you’ll read below, marketing is not something they have necessarily done heretofore, so I will now not only swing the spotlight around to face them, but I will also say that their subscription fees, for those who like what you read below, are insanely, wonderfully affordable, too. That info is here<\/a><\/strong>, for interested folks. <\/p>\n I thank the folks at Literacyhead for visiting today. Without further ado…<\/p>\n Team Literacyhead<\/font><\/strong>: There are at least Seven Categories of Crazy relating to Literacyhead.com, so here\u2019s a little listicle (list + article) to bring you up to speed on the children\u2019s literature website that everyone is almost talking about. Team Literacyhead intently concentrated for the past year-plus on developing literacyhead-ish content, and this relentless creation has left us only about four minutes to tell everyone about our work with children\u2019s literature. Marketing is not typical, literacyhead-ish behavior, so we (Team Literacyhead) thought that if we wanted an audience larger than our mothers, we should start talking. Thanks, Jules, for lending us your audience! <\/p>\n Before we begin, here\u2019s the Miriam-Webster definition of literacyhead, a term you probably know even if you don\u2019t know it. <\/p>\n li-t(\u0259-)r\u0259-s\u0113-hed<\/em> (noun) 1-Someone who is intensely serious about exercising creative literacy, making connections across multiple literacies, pursuing thoughtful literacy as an individual and as a teacher\/parent, and constantly searching for ideas; 2-A person with an almost manic obsession with books and\/or reading; 3-An incessant thinker; 4-The part of the brain used when thinking about books and ideas; 5-Literacyhead.com<\/a><\/strong>, a digital anthology of children\u2019s literature, visual art, and reading and writing research, which are all presented together in profound ways and make the literacyhead area of the brain glow.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you are reading this, you are probably a literacyhead, but it is easy to verify. Simply answer these questions to determine just how literacyheaded you are.<\/p>\n If you answered \u201cyes\u201d to 1-3 of these questions, you are probably a literacyhead. If you answered \u201cyes\u201d to 4 or 5 of these questions, you are definitely a literacyhead. If you answered \u201cyes\u201d to all 6 questions, you are certainly a literacyhead, and you should definitely see a doctor. You might find something interesting to read in the waiting room.<\/p>\n Doggedly exploring the ways stories, children\u2019s books, learning to read and write, and visual art can connect, we build lessons, write articles, and organize collections of art to help parents and teachers show children the wonders of thinking and reading. Whether the text is a picture book or a piece of art, we creatively organize all the stuff we develop and house it at Literacyhead.com<\/a><\/strong> for other literacyheads to enjoy.<\/p>\n The following few minutes of video took more than 1,000 hours to make (Technically, it was an impossible thing before breakfast since it was completed around 3:00 a.m.). You should watch both of these clips, not only because we worked so hard on them, but also because there is a winning lottery number at the end of one of them. It\u2019s not going to be at the end of the first clip you will watch, so you should watch them both. <\/p>\n If you are a literacyhead, these videos will make you feel like you\u2019ve finally found your mothership. Don\u2019t be startled.<\/p>\n A little bit of Literacyhead: <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/literacyheadlogo.jpg\")
And here’s why I love them: Well, I feel like the real heroes out there, as clich\u00e9 as this may sound, are the teachers and school librarians of the world, working tirelessly day-to-day in our oft-beleaguered schools. I tend to run my mouth here at 7-Imp about illustration (in particular)—oh, I can wax annoyingly poetic for days about just one<\/em> book or just one eloquent illustration or one very funny spread—but every now and then, when I can, I like to shine the spotlight on people doing the hands-on work in educating our children. (And those of you interested in literacy are<\/em> reading Jen Robinson’s blog<\/a><\/strong>, Carol Rasco’s blog<\/a><\/strong>, and Terry Doherty’s Reading Tub<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, yes? I’m probably forgetting a slew of other great literacy blogs, but when in doubt or when needing even more info, go to those smart, passionate ladies for the low-down.)<\/p>\n\n