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Strumming Up Fun at School

If you haven’t read the origin story of this book, then you don’t know why the out of the box backstory of Strum and The Wild Turkeys is the perfect reflection of this author-educator’s building outside the blocks style. When I was commissioned to write a story about a real event on a family’s ranch, I didn’t expect much from myself or it. When I discovered the story that became Strum and The Wild Turkeys, I knew it had to be in schools. I could imagine so many different ways to use the soon-to-be-picture book in a classroom and devised a series of complementary activities in my head. I was elated to hear the news that Edumatch wanted to publish it so that I could realize my vision and get teachers strumming up fun at school.



Since the book’s launch in April 2021, I have created a lot of content on social media and our website. If you aren’t following @strumandtwt, I encourage you to check it out. If you haven’t seen our website, I want to tell you a bit about the pages. There is a For Grownups section full of activity ideas and great graphics. I still have difficulty putting myself in that category, but I needed an umbrella term for educators, parents, grandparents, aunt and uncles, community members etc, so I settled on that. The section is divided into school subjects, and I invite educators to share how they are using the book so that I can include their ideas in there, as well. The illustrator of the book, Alana McCarthy, was kind and generous enough to create graphics for each of the sections to make it easy for “Grownups” to find what they need there. I actually had to hold myself back once I had a few activities for each section because I wanted it to feel welcoming and ensure visitors feel that the lists weren’t too exhaustive or complete without their additions. I love to make spaces for everyone to contribute.



The For Kids section is a self-directed space with a variety of activities. We added a printable picture of Strum I call a Strum on the Run so kids can take him with them when they need inspiration or to feel like someone gets what

they’re going through. There will be plushies one day, if only to fulfill a promise to my youngest that she can sleep with Gobble, her favourite character, in her arms. Strum inspires me and helps me be true to myself. I often send card-stock Strum on the Runs with author-copies like a Flat Stanley, but with a different mission. Since the book was published during the pandemic, I was acutely aware of the isolation many children were experiencing, and I knew that not everyone could print, never mind in colour, so we’ve sed out a lot of Strum on The Runs this year. We used a few black-line master sketches as colouring pages, and I added an image of the map to get kids to imagine the space of the ranch or be inspired to hone their cartographic literacy. I also added a book club guide for older students to be able to converse about the story and themes, though I have yet to hear of a group of Grade 2 or 3 students deciding to do this on their own, here is what I created in case anyone wants to use it. I also made a crossword puzzle. If you have an idea of something else I could add there, just let me know.




There are a lot of other features on the site that I hope you check out. In the About Us section, you can learn a bit more about me, Alana and the Glina brothers who catalyzed this journey. You can learn about the characters and the instruments they play. You can even "join the band" by stopping my the Shop and ordering a t-shirt or other item sporting the book logo, the band logo, and more. You can check out the pictures in our Gallery section as well as some of the reviews. Then find Songs underneath. Different is Good is the only one there now. It's the first song off the book which sounds a bit different than first single off the album, but this project has me writing original songs, which I am just loving. I have 3 others in the works, and the words from the song now on a tshirt I designed today that I also ordered for myself. A version of Different is Good is coming out this month from Juno-nominated children’s duo Sonshine and Broccoli. My favourite section of all, though, is Creative Corner. I love when we get original drawings or stories about characters in the book or peacocks or newly created characters for future books in the series. I ask kids to write their first name and last initial when they or their teachers send their work to us through info@strumandthewildturkeys.com. Seeing and feeling the student’s voices on our website makes me feel complete in many ways. If you think something is missing from the site, please let me know.



I have read Strum and The Wild Turkeys to thousands of students and entire schools across continents and grade levels. From K-8 and higher ed, I have loved every minute of my virtual visits and look forward to booking more. I wrote about my Rock Your Differences world tour for Dig Cit Summit and The Impact of an Author Visit, but I am exceptionally excited to do my first in-person visit next week at Ledbury Park Elementary and Middle School in Toronto. I've sent the teachers my package with some of the website info, the lyrics and music for the song, and a few other things to get them ready. I hope to add some new student work to the website after my reading.



Want to book and author visit, collaborate on an event, or connect about the book and anything else I do in edu? Email me at noa@buildingoutsidetheblocks.com.

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