 Nature, science, imagination explored as 6th and 7th graders meet literary experts
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 (OAKLAND, Calif.) – Julia Morgan School for Girls students host Mary Ann Hoberman, author of over 40 children’s books and the new National Children’s Poet Laureate, and Linda Winston, cultural anthropologist and teacher – co-editors of the new book, The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination.
The vibrant clamor of Julia Morgan students quickly falls quiet as Hoberman and Winston begin to give a detailed account of how their collaboration and journey toward publication manifests over a span of seven years, and why their latest book is particularly significant for young readers today.
“We wanted to bring poetry and science together,” Hoberman explains, “because they are not fields that are divided from one another. They both share a sense of wonder…and we hope that this book passes along that wonder to its young readers.”
The morning passes quickly, as Hoberman and Winston read aloud and answer questions, quenching the thirsty imaginations of 120 sixth- and seventh-grade students. An anthology of more than 100 poems, The Tree That Time Built is what publisher Sourcebook describes as being, “packed with poems and comments that reveal the many parallels between poetry and science, […] an important resource for teachers and students as well as a treasured collection for all lovers of poetry.
Sandra Luna, JMSG Head of School, acknowledges that, “the integration that Mary Ann and Linda model, in the vision, creation and presentation of their anthology, is a perfect example of what our school tries to accomplish on a day-to-day basis with our curriculum.” Continuing, Luna explains, “Brain research shows that girls learn best through a project-based interdisciplinary approach, which integrates and builds bridges between multiple disciplines…and in particular, disciplines that have been traditionally separated.”
For more information about the Julia Morgan School for Girls, please visit us online at www.juliamorganschool.org. The Tree That Time Built is on shelves now, and additional background on the book can be found at http://www.sourcebooks.com.
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