Kidsmart Book Publishing

Kidsmart Book Publishing
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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Meet Magpie and Friends, The Storyteller, Troubadour, Folkteller, and Griot.

Greetings from Kidsmart,

    Well he's late all right, about a week late! Hmm.
    It's Saturday, and Magpie has finally arrived. He got lost and side tracked on his way to meet U. He said he's ready to tell U all about the Tar Baby and Br'er Rabbit incident, and when he's done U can ask questions. That's good because Br'er Rabbit takes some explaining.



Oh, okay, it seems that um, Magpie's cousins, Cloudy and( with a slight chance of) Rain haven't arrived yet, so I guess we have to wait a few for them. In the meantime here's your Troubadour,  Magpie!  

This is Kidsmart signing out 1...2....3  It's all yours Magpie!



      " Hello boys and girls... mothers.....fathers and grands, I'm Magpie, the Lionhead Rabbit. My cousins, Cloudy and Rain are out looking for their pet Rolo, who is lost, so I guess we better get started." I'll go slow so Cloudy and Rain won't miss a lot of the tale, hopefully.
I drew some pictures for U to help tell the story.
 
     "Today I want to tell you the story as told  by Uncle Remus, a black slave back in the 19th century. His tales are considered Folktales, and Folktales are stories passed down from family to family or from tribe to tribe, or from generation to generation.
     "Most Folktales are told in order to be a lesson for U and me. For instance, Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby has many lessons to make U a better person in life.  
 Let's see how many lessons you learn from this Folktale.


 
     It happened one day when Br'er Rabbit was relaxing in a cabbage patch, minding his own business, and reading his favorite book.  He decided to take a walk and stretch his legs out in the forest, because he had been sitting too long. An ergonomic break he called it.
     So Br'er Rabbit walked a little and then he jumped a little, and then he hopped a little ways, when he came upon a  little boy minding his own beeswax and resting up against a rock. "Hello!" said Br'er Rabbit, robustly.  "Beautiful day isn't it?"
     The Tar Baby didn't speak or answer him. So Br'er Rabbit came a little closer, and said, " I don't believe I know your name. U must be new around here?"   
      The Tar Baby kept looking straight ahead and did not answer. He seemed to be deep in thought
which did not sit too well with Br'er Rabbit's personality. He loved to charm people out of their socks with his cleverness and friendly conversations, but the Tar Baby wouldn't even look at him.

     Even Mr Fox and Mr Bear (who were watching all of this) looked surprised. "Look at that," said Mr. Fox to Mr Bear, "The very sociable Br'er Rabbit can't get the boy to talk." They began to laugh and point their paws at Br'er Rabbit.

    " I know how to make him speak," said Br'er Rabbit. "I'll be back." So he left the Tar Bay alone for the rest of the day and continued to read his book in the cabbage patch. But, the Tar Baby stayed on his mind and messed with his ego a lot. Imagine that, thought Br'er Rabbit, as friendly as I was he wouldn't speak to me or give me the time of day.

     So that's part one of Br'er Rabbit and The Tar Baby, kids.
Questions:
1.   Why do you think Tar Baby wouldn't speak to Br'er Rabbit?
2.   What do you think Br'er Rabbit will do to try and get the Tar Baby to talk to him?

Food for thought, hey?
 See you next week for the continuing story of Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby, by Uncle Remus. I sure hope Cloudy and Rain find Rolo by then.
 
Take Care,
Magpie

Sunday, February 13, 2011

KidSmart Books: Br'er Rabbit & Tar Baby: Guard Your Tongue Watch Y...

 "Hello young readers and parents, What about the Classics that send positive messages? When I think of children's litera..."

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