![]() ![]() “It was,” says McKissack, “one of the few public places where I felt welcome. The Nashville Public Library was not segregated. ![]() She was born Particia L’Ann Carwell, in Nashville TN and there, she grew up with the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, her grandfather’s storytelling and with the Nashville Public Library. That’s what we need to teach our children – to find the best way to express their thoughts.” (Smith) When I’m choosing a word, I never choose the right word I choose the best word, and the best word is not always Standard English. Let them express joy and exuberance, the joy of living and then when it’s not there, we can clean it up – decide whether to write “I am” or “I be.” And if “I be” fits the story better, leave it alone. They will not be inhibited about putting things on paper, or in their talking. We can do much with it, and if we free our kids up to express them- selves in many different ways, their school experiences with language will be so much more meaningful to them. Her stories were often flavored with the dialect with which she grew up. They evolved from her heart: her African American southern roots. ![]() ![]() They are the foundation of libraries and of communities. Their work is as spiritual as it is political. And yet, there are those who are more than that they’re the people who create the stories that express our shared identities, that inspire us to be more than we’ve planned for ourselves and who question. I’ve learned that we are all libraries, each carrying in us the stories that make us unique. ![]()
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