The Bright Lights Book Project: Leaping into Literacy, Part II

The Bright Lights Book Project: Leaping into Literacy, Part II

Contributed by Alys Culhane

Last month I wrote about the Bright Lights Book Project leap into literacy, and how we’re continuing to get salvaged books into the hands of appreciative readers. I surmised that book ownership and literacy, particularly as this relates to children, are complementary terms. I used the example of two children acquiring books at our Turkey Red bookcase. Here, Part II, I’m writing about how we’ve remained consistent with literacy-related vision statement, which is “Envisioning the power of literacy to change lives.”

What comes to mind is the most recent BLBP event, held in the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel, on Sunday, March 3, 2024. “Dogs, Dogs, Dogs,” was held on the day of the Iditarod re-start. And, not coincidently, we had several hundred dog-related children’s books on hand.
Prior to this event, I placed our children, young adult, and dog how-to books on our new library cart shelf. When full, the cart also contained numerous Iditarod books, some of which featured illustrations by John Van Zyle. Funds for the purchase of this cart were donated to us by Alicia, Austin, Clark, and Beth Anderson.

I also put our new financial contribution box (made by Matanuska Woodworks wood worker Bill Schmidtkunz) on the front table, next to our informational handouts. This was our way of making an important distinction. We now use the term donation when talking about book acquisition and the term financial contributions when talking about funding support.

The afternoon began with the scheduled hour-long children’s story time. Former Elementary school teacher and BLBP Volunteer Lois Liebing read A Puppy Named Gih which was written by Sara Machetanz and Illustrated by her husband Fred Machetanz. This was followed by a reading of the book Combat Dogs by Ignacio White, age 9. Lastly, BLBP Project Manager Pam Huyck read Craig Smith’s The Wonky Donkey. This book lends itself to audience participation – the main character was (we all decided) a spunky, hanky panky cranky, stinky-dinky, lanky, honky-tonky, winky wonky donkey. And our imitation of his hee haws (I am sure) could be heard throughout the Eagle Hotel.

Gleo Huyck was scheduled to speak but was sick. He along with Joe Redington Sr. and Tom Johnson founded the Iditarod. Pam Hyuck and their daughter Heather spoke in his place. We learned that these three men spirited this first-ever, long-distance race into reality. The U.S. Army helped break portions of the trail, and with the support of the Nome Kennel Club (Alaska’s earliest, founded in 1907), the race went all the way to Nome. The mushers, said Huyck, “had to break much of their own trail and take care of their own supplies.” The winner of the first Iditarod was Dick Wilmarth, who took almost three weeks to reach Nome.

Dogs remained at the forefront of the story telling event, as an open mic session followed. I did an impromptu book share and I talked about my interest in herding dogs, noting that my previous literary interest was the composing process of writers. The second speaker was local artist Taylor York. He, in fact, painted the landscape mural that graced the Palmer Senior Center float in the Alaska State Fair parade.

Taylor held his audience spellbound as he spoke about his service dog Chloe’s ADA training, which took place in Wisconsin. (Service Dogs assist people with disabilities, allowing them to participate in daily activities, including the workplace. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employees have the right to bring trained service dogs to work). Taylor noted that his family members purchased the chihuahua for him, and together, the dog and owner moved to Alaska. We subsequently learned that when Taylor is in duress, Chloe, upon tasting the saliva that he puts on his hand during training, determines if he is experiencing heart problems. Each time this has occurred, Chloe has risen to the occasion.

So, what do the above events have to do with literacy? Ignacio read a large book that was maybe above his reading level. Lois, who was sitting next to him, gave him an assist by showing him how to hold the book and encouragement in sounding out unfamiliar words. His rapt audience also supported Ignacio’s efforts. Pam, in her reading of the Wonky Donkey included us in on the story. In talking about their Iditarod involvement, Pam and Heather reminded us of the importance of historical accuracy. In my book share presentation, I alluded to the fact that books (as they were in my case) can be life changing. Lastly, all the presentations, and in particular Taylor’s anecdotal account of his relationship with Chloe, reminded us of the importance of storytelling, an activity that connects us to those with common interests.