Bøger af Sam Swope

"Swope's marvelous, moving book revives the teaching memoir . . . And takes it to new realms of tenderness, insight and humanity." -Phillip LopateIn 1995, writer Sam Swope gave a workshop to a third-grade class in a Queens school bursting at the seams with kids from around the world. So enchanted was he with his twenty-eight students that he "adopted" the class for three years, teaching them to write stories and poems. I Am a Pencil is the story of his years with this very special group of students. It is as funny, warm, heartbreaking, and hopeful as the children themselves. Swope follows his colorful troop of resilient writers from grades three to five, coaxing out their stories, watching talents blossom, explode, and sometimes fizzle. We meet Cindy (whose mom was a Taoist priestess), Brian (who cannot seem to tell the truth), and Lourdes (a wacky Dominican chatterbox). Preparing his students for a world of adult dangers, Swope is astonished by their courage, their humanity, and most of all, their strength. I Am a Pencil is a book about the power and magic of imagination, providing a unique window on the immigrant experience as seen through the lives of children.

A "very vivid and entertaining tale of fair play and poetic justice,"* The Araboolies of Liberty Street by writer Sam Swope and illustrator Barry Root is the story of a family overcoming neighborhood prejudice.The General and Mrs. Pinch have always prided themselves on the character of those living on Liberty Street. But when the Araboolies move in, the rigid conformity stifling the neighbors is shattered by the newcomers' joyous and eccentric behavior. Now, the General has called in the army to reestablish order-only to find resistance from the children of Liberty Street determined to ensure the freedom of their newfound friends, the Araboolies. "Even on a street named for freedom itself, people conform and are terrified by bullies, by killjoys...Enter the Araboolies, an irrepressible extended family of multicolored vagabonds [with] rollicking, nonconformist behavior."-*The New York Times Book Review"The crisp text and autumn-muted, full-color paintings are a triumph of energy, enthusiasm, and design."-Booklist (starred review)