Co-sponsored by the Center for European Studies and partners in WIRC.
International Children’s Literature Celebration: Folk and Fairy Tales is a workshop for educators, librarians, students and children’s literature enthusiasts. The daylong event will feature three award-winning authors and experts from UW-Madison. Authors will present mini lectures, engage in a roundtable discussion, and sign copies of their books for attendees. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Bring a friend and join us Saturday, December 2, at the Concourse Hotel in downtown Madison!
This event, which is designed for adults who teach, sell, or consume children’s literature, will feature three award-winning authors of children’s and young adult fiction: Rochelle Hassan, author of The Buried and the Bound, Karla Arenas Valenti, author of Loteria, and Lori Lee, author of Pahua and the Soul Stealer.
- Perfect for middle readers, but enjoyed by all ages, Loteria takes place in Mexico and revolves around a young girl who is unknowingly drawn into a game between Life and Death to save her missing cousin. This twist on a traditional Mexican pastime leads our main character into a mythical kingdom to change her fate.
- Set in Wisconsin, Lori Lee’s novel for middle readers, Pahua and the Soul Stealer, follows the adventures of a lonely Hmong girl as she accidentally untethers an angry spirit from the haunted bridge in her neighborhood. When her brother suddenly falls sick and can’t be awoken, Pahua fears that the bridge spirit has stolen his soul. She returns to the scene of the crime with her aunt’s old shaman tools, hoping to confront the spirit and demand her brother’s return. Instead, she summons a demon.
Before the discussion (and book signing!) with the authors, UW-Madison regional scholars of folklore and literature will guide us through the history and global significance of folktales to provide attendees with a solid foundation in the topic.
The event will address several Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts, including, but not limited to R.6.3, R.8.3, R.7.4, R.7.6, R.8.4, R,9-10.3, R11-12.5 & .6, but will also be beneficial for teachers in Social Studies and World Languages.
This is a great opportunity to find out more about folk tales, to learn about the process of writing and publishing a children’s or YA novel, and to recharge with other bibliophiles.
With the $25 registration fee, participants will receive one signed copy of each of the books. Lunch and refreshments will be provided at no cost during the event.
Register here: https://wirc.international.wisc.edu/wirc-initiatives/international-childrens-literature-celebration-folk-and-fairy-tales/
*This workshop is funded by grants from the US Department of Education, which prohibit us from using these funds to pay for food. Thus, the $25 registration fee is needed to cover the cost of lunch and refreshments.