From left to right

Back row:

Val Adams

Shawn Frank 

Tim Christensen 

Daniel Parsons

Eli Evans

Clifford Gowan

Allan Hayden

Front row:

Christian Frerichs

Deion Frank

Anthony Mayo-Cobos

Brenon Littlefield

Here is a picture of Nordale just after the audioconference on March 9th.

Mount Edgecumbe High School welcomed Mr. Hope to their campus for a presentation to about one hundred students, mostly freshman English students, but also including students in other grades. During his presentation, Mr. Hope told a traditional story about a boy who chose to leave his people to live with the salmon people. During his experiences with the salmon people the boy learns about himself and his own people. Mount Edgecumbe students "listened intently" to Mr. Hope and had time to ask questions and engage in dialogue during his time with them.

A staff member had this to say about Mr. Hope's presentation:

"Everybody really enjoyed Ishmael Hope.  Teachers said he gave a great message about respect and appreciating ones native values.  He reminded students that their native language is the spirit of their elders speaking.  It is important to remember and share their native stories. He was very appreciated and his message resonated with us all."

In the Strong Man comic and in Mr. Hope's presentation many lessons were told. What is ONE of those lessons? Use your own words to explain the lesson and explain the part of the story that shows the lesson.

Hello Ms. Littlefield's Tlingit class,

Welcome to the library for a chance to blog about Strong Man and Ishmael Hope's visit to our school. Click on add comment and tell about the lessons you learned from the Strong Man  story, the Strong Man comic, or Mr. Hope's visit.

Hi Ms. Littlefield's Class,

Welcome to the library for a chance to blog about the story of Strong Man. Click on add comment and tell us the story of Strong Man.

Thanks to Pam Johnson of Koliganek School for having students in grades 3-12 participate in a video conference with the author. Talking with Koliganek students was especially meaningful to Mr. Hope. "I have a soft spot in my heart for these kids (in rural Alaska)." He expressed the idea that the students may live in remote places, but they also are living in the center of the universe, in places where they are connected to their ancestors and where their language is still being spoken. The author believes that these students are the hope for the future - they are the ones who can lead the world in keeping cultures strong.

Mr. Hope told the students the story of how Raven brings light into the world. He also encouraged the students to share their language with him. The students counted and sang for Mr. Hope as the audio conference was ending.

The Spirit of Reading program would love for Koliganek students to send a picture of themselves for posting in this blog. We are excited to hear of the plans for building a new school!

Two fifth grade classrooms had the chance to hear stories from a "very talented storyteller," commented Keet Gooshi Heen librarian Beau Hedrick. "Mr. Hope did a great job of preparing the students to hear the stories. He invited them to go on an adventure with him and they responded to his invitation." One of the favorite stories was that of the "Cannibal Giant" - a story that tells about the creation of mosquitoes while cautioning against pursuing revenge. Mr. Hedrick commented that several students approached him after the event to tell them how much they liked the storytelling.

Thanks to Mrs. Rogers and Mr. Orbison for having their students participate in the program. Students in Mrs. Rogers's class had the chance to read the Strong Man comic before meeting Mr. Hope. There weren't quite enough copies of the book to go around for Mr. Orbison's class!

This is a message to Denali Elementary and Nordale Elementary students - you made the audio conference with Ishmael Hope a highlight of the Alaska Spirit of Reading program and we are thankful for your participation!

The audio conference started with introductions. It was exciting to learn that Brenon Littlefield from Nordale and Mr. Hope share some Sitka relatives!

We love to find a book that connects with reluctant readers and Strong Man is just that kind of reading. "We have been devouring the Strong Man comics," shared Nordale's Valorie Adams. Students at Nordale are eagerly awaiting autographed copies of the comic. Thanks to Daniel Parsons for the request. They will be shipped soon, but have to make their way to Mr. Hope before you will receive them.

Students at Denali Elementary read and talked about Strong Man. They also have been reading stories from the graphic novel Trickster. "Everyone read the story. We even read it to the principal. We talked about the structure of the comic book - how the two Strong Man stories were connected."

Mr. Hope fielded questions from students at the two schools. When a Denali students asked him how he became an author, Mr. Hope answered the question, but also discussed where stories can come from. "We have to start looking at our villages as the center of the universe. If a good story is being told, it feels that we are the center of the universe."

Mr. Hope met with students in two Surveying Literature classes during his visit to Sitka High School. The students, mainly 10th-12th graders, read and discussed the Strong Man comic book in preparation for his visit.

"Mr. Hope had a real sense of the two classes. They were a relatively quite audience, but he seemed to tap into what was important for them to hear," commented teacher Stephanie Ask. During his visit, Mr. Hope spoke about the importance of traditional stories and how they help students connect with their culture and ancestors.

Ms. Ask was especially appreciative of Mr. Hope's message about reading. "He recalled being in high school and realizing that, four or five pages in, that he had not understood what he had read. Mr. Hope told the students that it is okay not to fully understand what you are reading. The good thing that is they are being challenged. If a person seeks out those kinds of challenges, he will learn from them."

In his discussion of the Strong Man comic book, Mr. Hope spoke about the sources he went to for the story. After his visit, the Surveying Literature classes went back to one of these sources, the Frank Johnson version of the story told in the Haa Shuka book by Richard and Nora Dauenhauer. "This lead to a discussion of why stories have different versions," said Ask.

"My students had very positive comments on Mr. Hope's visit. I saw students who don't engage in class stay begin to talk to Mr. Hope after his presentation."

Ms. Farvour's sixth grade students and Ms. Littlefield's Tlingit students prepared for the author's visit by reading and discussing the Strong Man comic. Ms. Littlefield made Ms. Farvour's day when Ms. Littlefield used old-school technology in the form of Language Masters to record the Tlingit words in the story. Ms. Farvour had this to say of Mr. Hope's visit.

"Through serendipity, students were writing and punctuating dialogue using a comic generator, pixton.com, in the weeks leading up to the author's visit. I was greatly pleased to discover that this year's Spirit of Reading author had collaborated on a graphic novel. I learned that when you create a graphic novel, you should leave a white space at the beginning of the work for autographs."

Thanks to Mr. Hope for his willingness to sign his work for students.