During our Love of Reading Month, the husband and wife team of Mama and Papa Goose, book authors and publishers, came from Houston, Texas, to Tucson to help inspire and motivate the students at TIA to be avid readers.
Avid Readers Translates to Avid Learners
Mama and Papa Goose, both first-generation college graduates, refer to themselves as the “Literacy Parents of the World for Children.” They would like to inspire children to become avid readers in their formative years which then translates to avid learners throughout their lives. Their events target children who are reluctant readers. Then they get them excited about reading books by sharing Mama Goose stories, which are books that kids can imagine themselves in. They are fantasy and fiction books such as Ka’Myrah: The Mermaid Princess, Sammy Please Behave, Chocolate City and Daddy Dinosaur.
Bringing Stories to Life
When authors share their books with others, they can bring to life the stories they’ve created. This captures the kids’ attention and makes it very entertaining. Mama Goose feels that being able to share her books this way brings a special message to the children. She encourages the students to read as many books as they can and to write their own stories, too.
Mama Goose - Book Concert at TIA
Mama Goose came dressed in a costume as a character in one of her books. She gathered the younger TIA students for a “book concert” where she read her books out loud to the kids and sang songs that go with the stories. She also asked questions and engaged them in multiple ways to help foster the love of reading and writing.
Papa Goose - How to Get All A’s at TIA
Papa Goose, who was also dressed as a fictional character, spoke to the older students about how to get A’s all through school and college. He shared seven steps to follow to help remember information better, and how much time they should invest in studying to maximize their study time. He shared strategies to accelerate their reading based on memory science, which explains how to engage the brain to remember various types of information easier.