Idaho Education

Finding My Dance

/ Jean

by Ria Thundercloud

Illustrated by Kalila J. Fuller

“Finding My Dance” by Ria Thundercloud is a heartfelt exploration of identity, culture, and self-expression through dance.

The book follows the journey of a youngster as she navigates the challenges of growing up and discovering her unique voice.

Through the lens of dance, themes of resilience, connection to heritage, and the joy of movement are beautifully woven together.

The story emphasizes the importance of embracing one’s individuality. A sub-plot might be the transformative power of art and the beauty of self-discovery.

Penguin Random House and wherever books are sold.

PLC Questions

What do we want students to learn?

  • All of life’s experiences contribute to the outcome of your hard work and dreams.
  • Develop Resilience.
  • Find your voice.

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”
~Albert Einstein~

Book with Broken Spine (part 2)

/ Jean

First I removed the end paper from the spine. Seems like “first, do no harm” is not an option today.

The hinge is broken and a curly edged piece was attached to the cheesecloth. I removed it but now wonder if I can use that for the repair or should I use the single stitch binder tape?

While I contemplate that, I know that the end paper coming off the back board will have to be glued so I mixed library glue with water to make a light adhesive.

Those things have to dry first before I can complete the rest of repair, so — patience. I did experiment with ironing the material that had been attached to the cheesecloth. It was easier to straighten than I anticipated.

It came out really nice and flat. But when I rewatched the video on single stitch binder tape, I realized that the reason this broke is that this material was not strong enough to hold such a large text block. I think it would be best to finish the repair with the binding tape.

Stay tuned.

Book mending

/ Jean
Above: The first video I watched to get my bearings with this project.

Looking into book repair and how the professionals do it.

This video method requires specialized equipment and is out of my reach, but it has familiarized me with the parts of a book and some of the materials. I am working on a class with the Idaho Art Education Association led by Rachael Mayer. We are using “Almost Lost Arts: Traditional Crafts and the Artisans Keeping Them Alive” by Emily Freidenrich as our textbook.

The sky’s (nearly) the limit, so I am working to keep all the virtual bits and the physical bits together in one place. My job today was to walk through the library and find some old books to mend. I didn’t find a good example to work on, but rather some superficial type repairs, which I will do.

Actually, (the above) was the first fascinating video I watched which filled me with a scattering of ideas.

Now back to the real world.