Each month we will pit two worthy opponents against each other, and YOU will decide with your donation which is the mightier. The two contenders in this first round are Star Trek and Star Wars. Which one will reign in this battle of the stars? There is only ONE week left to vote for your favourite star before we make way for a new battle in April, so come into the ITA to make your donation and make your choice! All proceeds go to supporting Story Planet programming.
Last week, our intrepid ITA Manager Rebecca went on a scouting mission to the bizarre land known to Earthlings as NYC. Her assignment: To infiltrate the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and collect data on the 112th annual American International Toy Fair. The fair is a place where Earthling merchants gather to hawk their wares to toy stores and bookshops, so Rebecca conducted an in-depth study of strange new products to sell in the ITA. Naturally, the report she delivered to Story Planet’s Alien Chieftess upon her return is top secret and classified information, but she did leak some exciting details of her expedition to the Head of Interstellar Communications. Read on, brave explorers!
What is The New York Toy Fair? The NY Toy Fair is a huge gathering of toy companies showing off their product for buyers, store owners, and other “industry” people. It’s the place to find out what new stuff a company will be putting out, as well as discovering lots of great vendors you didn’t know existed!
What were your top 3 favourite booths? Ooh, number one has to be the MakerBot 3D printers– watching a little machine construct perfect plastic figurines from practically nothing was the highlight of the whole trip! I also had a blast popping into the Celestial Buddies booth, because how cute is Jupiter’s Great Red Spot nose?! It was also really exciting to see GoldieBlox in person– these construction toys designed to get girls interested in engineering got their start on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, and the people who work there are all the nicest.
I ♥ NY: Agree or disagree? Controversial question! New York is an amazing place– so much to see and do!– but it’s also huge, and I’m a Story Planet gal at heart.
Any travel horror stories to share? No, travelling through the Intergalactic Travel Authority is always a pleasant trip! I grabbed a coffee, checked the Departures board to make sure my flight was running on schedule, and off I went.
What exciting new products will be appearing in the ITA? Well, that depends entirely on how many companies offer intergalactic shipping. You’ll have to come in and see!
Usually it takes Cupid a little longer to fly through our airspace, and what with this supersonic storm system blowing in from Neptune, we thought he wouldn’t make it at all this year. But boy, were we wrong! We arrived on Monday morning to find the loveliest note waiting for us. Now this wasn’t a love note, per se, but it was definitely a note full of love.
It seems that members of the Graduate English Association at the University of Toronto organized an event recently where they shared writing that they did when they were kids (fun!). Besides having a grand old time rediscovering their writerly roots, they also collected donations to give to a charity…and they picked us!
We are so touched by the GEA’s thoughtful note and generous donation. Thanks to you, we will be able to help more young authors-to-be find their voice. Thank you for being our Valentine! (We only ask that you invite us to your event next time, because it sounds fantastic!)
P.S. Curious about what we do here at Story Planet? Let us tell you…
You may not know this, but Story Planet is orbited by no fewer than 17 moons, so Lunar New Year is a very special time in our corner of the galaxy. Traditionally, our Lunar New Year festival is a weeklong celebration of creativity, spontaneity, reflection, and competitive moon-walking.
We love to swap stories about customs and traditions with the Earthlings who come through the ITA, so over the years we’ve learned a lot about Lunar New Year celebrations on Earth. This year Lunar New Year falls on January 31st, and in the Chinese Zodiac we are in the year of the horse. (For our Alien friends, a horse is a four-pronged, swish-tailed creature similar to a Saturnian Prindlesnoot.)
For those of you celebrating Lunar New Year on Earth, we have some book recommendations to share. These titles (and more!) are all available at Story Planet’s Intergalactic Travel Authority, or at your local library.
Year of the Dog – Grace Lin
Even though we’re in the year the of the horse, Grace Lin’s chapter book, “The Year of the Dog,” is a heartwarming tale for all seasons. The story follows Pacy, a Taiwanese American girl who is finding it difficult to be both Taiwanese and American at the same time. Pacy learns that the year of the dog is the year she is destined to “find herself.” Although there are some bumps along the way, the new year brings Pacy a fresh perspective on how to be many things at once, and she discovers the importance of friendship, family, and finding one’s passion.
Chin Chiang and the Dragon Dance – Ian Wallace
In this beautifully illustrated tale, we are celebrating the year of the dragon. Chin Chiang, a Chinese Canadian boy, is nervous about performing the dragon dance at the New Year festival for the first time. Worried that he will let his family down, Chin Chiang runs away. But he can’t escape his responsibility forever. With the help of an unexpected friend, Chin Chiang regains his confidence, and faces his fears.
Lighting Our World: A Year of Celebrations – Catherine Rondina
This colourful information book explores of celebrations of light across the globe. Catherine Rondina shares exciting stories of new and old customs told from the perspectives of children from 31 countries around the world. The rich and energetic illustrations by Jacqui Oakley lift these stories right off the page.
How do you celebrate Lunar New Year? Tell us in the comment section below!
National Family Literacy Day is an annual awareness day started by ABC Life Literacy in 1999 to promote the importance of fostering literacy in our communities and at home. This year Family Literacy Day falls on a Monday – January 27th to be precise – but why limit your celebrations to one day when you could be riding the reading and writing train all week? We have plenty of suggestions for how you and your family can share a story together throughout the week.
Tuesday, January 21st
We’ll start with the obvious: Read a book together!
Our Social Enterprise Manager Extraordinaire, Beck, has been recommending the classic Norton Juster children’s novel, The Phantom Tollbooth, left right and centre recently. Story Planet’s Alien Chieftess, Liz, recommends The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B, by Teresa Toten for middle grade readers. The bilingual (English and Cree) picture book, Caribou Song by Tomson Highway and John Rombough, is the current favourite of the Head of Interstellar Communications, Genie. These titles and more are all available to purchase at the Intergalactic Travel Authority.
More info: https://sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca/store/
Wednesday, January 22nd
If the storytellers in your family are not at the reading and writing stage yet, or happen to thrive on oral storytelling, why not explore literacy through digital media tools. Hilary Leung, author of the Ninja Cowboy Bear series, and The Pirate Girl’s Treasure, recently introduced us to Sago Sago, a company that creates storytelling apps for kids. An app like Sago Mini Doodlecast allows you to draw and record your voice at the same time so that you can tell a story as you illustrate, or just capture your whole creative process at once.
More advanced readers and writers should explore Wattpad – an online platform for storytellers. On Wattpad you will find stories written by both Margaret Atwood and your neighbour down the street. Explore new genres, discover new authors, or publish your own work!
More info: http://www.sagosago.com, http://www.wattpad.com/home
Thursday, January 23rd
Have fun with your words by playing a literary board game. Tried and true classics like Scrabble and Boggle are always fun, but there are so many more games out there to discover. Bananagrams is a raucous no-holds-barred, free-for-all version of Scrabble, where players compose their own word chains and race to be the first to use up all their tiles. Rory’s Story Cubes are an excellent prompt for story writing: simply throw the dice and compose a story based on the pictures that come up. Bananagrams, Rory’s Story Cubes, and many more fun literary games are available to purchase at the Intergalatic Travel Authority.
More info: https://sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca/store/
Friday, January 24th
Spend your P.A. day at the library with everyone’s favourite coward, Scaredy Squirrel! Scaredy and the librarians at the Amesbury Park branch of the Toronto Public Library have organized a literary scavenger hunt for adventurous readers (but not too adventurous!). Visit the TPL website to see the many other Family Literacy activities happening all this week and next.
More info: http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT158870&R=EVT158870
Saturday, January 25th
Participate in a Story Mob! “A what?” you ask, allow me to explain. Much like its predecessor, the Flash Mob, a Story Mob is a secret gathering of people that appear all together all at once to add some magic and whimsy to the lives of passers-by. But instead of hitting each other with pillows, or doing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance, Story Mobs recreate a beloved children’s story. Small Print Toronto has teamed up with the the TPL to organized several Story Mobs at locations throughout the city. This Saturday they are taking on Julia Donaldson’s Gruffalo, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. For reader parts, costume ideas, and more info on how to get involved, head on over to the Story Mob website.
More info: http://storymobs.ca/2014/01/were-going-on-a-gruffalo-hunt/
Sunday, January 26th
Bring your family to Story Planet for the launch of Gabby: Drama Queen, a new book in the Gabby series from author Joyce Grant and illustrator Jan Dolby. There will be fun activities and games all afternoon, and both the author and illustrator will be there to sign copies!
You might also want to pay a visit to the Ontario Science Centre for their star-studded Family Literacy Day line-up. Robert Munsch, Ruth Ohi, Kenneth Oppel, Kevin Sylvester, and other bright literary lights will be in attendance!
More info: https://sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca/event/book-launch-for-gabby-drama-queen/, http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/Calendar/204/
Monday, January 27th
The theme for this year’s Family Literacy Day is “15 Minutes of Fun.” ABC Life Literacy has an excellent list of ideas for how you and your family can share some time together and improve literacy at the same time. Best of all, these activities are simple and free! Why not invent your own riddles together (#6), or make up a recipe together and post it online (#3). Head over to their website for the complete list.
On the surface, January will look like a quiet month at Story Planet. But don’t be fooled by our cool collected demeanour because, just like ducks, we are paddling furiously just below the surface trying to organize all the incredible programs and events we have planned for 2014!
In the meantime, we have some fabulous friends who will be using our space to run their programs starting this weekend. See below for more details!
Bad Dog Youth Academy: Winter Registration
Classes run Saturdays, Jan 18 to March 22, 2014 (9 classes in total). No class February 15, March 8 due to holidays.
We are offering three classes for ages 10 to 18: Youth Foundations 2 from 12-2 pm, Youth Foundations 1 from 2-4 pm and Youth Performance Ensemble 4-6 pm. You can find more information on each class on the Youth Academy site.
Each class will participate in our Academy Showcase on March 23 at Palmerston Library.
We will also be presenting the premiere of our Bad Dog Kids Show on Saturday, February 1st at Palmerston Library. This is monthly improv show for kids and families that provides an exciting alternative to Saturday morning cartoons and brings childhood literacy favourites to life with an improvised twist!
For more information on classes and enrollment please contact Lisa at Youth@BadDogTheatre.com
Breathe In & Shine: Mindfulness for Children & Families
Are you interested in sharing mindfulness with your children?
In this 4-week program, Sara will introduce child-friendly mindfulness practices to children and their families that they can then practice together at home. Practices will include games, songs, stories, art activities and everyday mindful awareness practices that can help to reduce stress and support connection in today’s often hectic households.
WHO: For children ages 6-8 and their caregivers.
WHEN: January 20 – February 10, 2014 (4 Mondays), 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Story Planet. 1165 Bloor St. W. (Bloor just West of Dufferin).
COST: $110 per family (up to 3 people.) – includes all art materials, a mindfulness
activity booklet and a copy of “No Ordinary Apple: A Story about Eating Mindfully”
Please email info@mindfulfamilies.ca to register. Space is limited to 5 families.
Sara Marlowe is a Registered Social Worker (RSW) and so the program may be covered by some extended benefits plans. Please discuss with your insurance provider.
InnerSpace is the Space channel’s flagship show for entertainment news from this galaxy and beyond, and last week they came to visit us! We had a blast chatting to Morgan and the InnerSpace team and showing them around Story Planet. If you missed out segment when it aired last week you can watch it right here on their website! Be sure to check out the other exciting intergalactic people and places they cover too.
Wow, does this book ever sound stellar! Teresa Toten has just been given the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature for The Unlikely Hero Of Room 13B— here’s a snippet about it from her website:
“When Adam meets Robyn at a support group for kids coping with obsessive-compulsive disorder, he is drawn to her almost before he can take a breath. He’s determined to protect and defend her–to play Batman to her Robyn–whatever the cost. But when you’re fourteen and the everyday problems of dealing with divorced parents and step-siblings are supplemented by the challenges of OCD, it’s hard to imagine yourself falling in love. How can you have a “normal” relationship when your life is so fraught with problems? And that’s not even to mention the small matter of those threatening letters Adam’s mother has started to receive . . .
Teresa Toten sets some tough and topical issues against the backdrop of a traditional whodunit in this engaging new novel that readers will find hard to put down.”
Teresa is on the board of directors for World Literacy Canada, and will be reading at the 2014 Kama Reading Series on April 30th in support of WLC. Check it out!
Infinite Fictions by Upcoming Writers from Another Reality is the collective endeavour of young people envisioning a place for themselves in this and alternate realities.
On Friday, November 22, 2013, Story Planet’s teen writers will launch their anthology, Infinite Fictions at The Intergalactic Travel Authority at 1165 Bloor Street West. The evening will feature performances and readings. No cover for the launch. Books will be available for sale.
Infinite Fictions collects stories and poems of mesmerizing science fiction, fantasy and alternate dimensions, from the imaginations of some of Toronto’s best writers under eighteen. Over eight months, a group of teenaged Toronto writers met weekly at Story Planet to write, edit and plan an anthology of the fantastic.
“Stories are our way of creating ourselves and telling the world who we are and what we think. Stories give our lives meaning and colour, so that we are more than just creatures with a pulse.’”
— Story Planet Teen Writers
“They explored their capacity to imagine in the hopes of inventing other worlds that often seem real.”
— Anthony De Sa
What: Book launch for Infinite Fictions by The Story Planet Teen Writers
When: Friday, November 22, 6:00pm
Where: Intergalactic Travel Authority (1165 Bloor Street West)
Details: The event is free! Books will be available for sale. To ensure a copy of the book email veronica@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca for pre-orders.
We see all kinds of visitors coming through the Intergalactic Travel Authority, and this week was no exception– an honest-to-goodness alien stopped by! This citizen of Adorablius XI was just tickled by our ongoing attempt at writing the World’s Longest Story, and generously offered to record some of her planet’s folklore.
…Looks like her translator was on the fritz, though– can any of you read Adorablian runes? Luckily, she provided some stellar alien illustrations to let us follow along even if we haven’t brushed up on our interplanetary dialects lately.
Swing by the ITA to try to decipher her entry and add a few lines yourself!
