Happy 103 years to the Grand Canyon National Park! President Teddy Roosevelt urged Americans to protect this great canyon, “What you can do is keep it for your children, your children’s children, and for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which every American should see.” For more information on this amazing park, check out a previous blog by clicking here. Cheers to 103 years!
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Today’s post will highlight five national parks named in honor of African Americans. Click on the links below to learn more about these inspiring sites within our national park system and history. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park – Located in Maryland, this national park honors Harriet Tubman’s bravery and leadership saving and guiding nearly 70 enslaved people to freedom. “When I found that I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything.”~ Harriet Tubman Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site – This national historic site was the home to the “Father of Black History” located in Washington DC. Dr. Carter G. Woodson lived here from 1922 until his death in 1950. Before Dr. Woodson, very little accurate was written about the history about the lives and experiences of Americans of African descent. According to NPS, Dr. Woodson established Negro History Week here in 1926, which we celebrate today as Black History Month. Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument – Located in Ohio, this national monument honors the legendary all-Black U.S. Army units and their leader, Charles Young. Col. Young was a distinguished officer in the U.S. Army, the third African American to graduate from West Point, and the first to achieve the rank of colonel. In addition, he was the first African American to serve as a superintendent of a national park. Buffalo Soldiers were pretty much the first park rangers. Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument – This national monument in Mississippi is one of the newer national park sites. Their home commemorates the legacies of two civil rights activists who devoted their lives to ending racial injustice against Black Americans through local and national activism. According to NPS, the assassination of Medgar Evers in 1963 for his efforts to promote racial equality and social justice was one of the key catalysts for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site – This national site in Virginia honors Maggie Lena Walker who devoted her life to civil rights advancement, economic empowerment, and educational opportunities for Jim Crow-era African Americans and women. As a bank president, newspaper editor, and fraternal leader, Walker served as an inspiration of pride and progress. These are just a few national park sites honoring African Americans in the national park system. Check out these cool and important places!
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Happy 6th months to Turtle Tube: An Erutuf National Park Novel! Yay!!! I still pinch myself that I have a published book out! For those of you on Instagram, I am hosting a giveaway to celebrate 6 months of publication by giving away 6 signed copies of my book. Head over to my Instagram account to check it out and enter the giveaway which ends on 2/28. Good luck! Thank you all for your support!!!
Recently, I received an e-mail thanking me for my information about national parks virtual tours as it helped out Corrine and her Girl Scout troop work on their Arts and Culture Fun Patch. In their research, Corrine found a couple of great online resources that I wanted to share: Take a virtual trip through each state and visit a historical landmark, museum, or zoo by clicking here. I really like how you can scroll to a particular state and click to check it out. You’ll even see some national parks on there. Take a virtual trip around the world and visit aquariums, zoos, national parks, famous landmarks, animals, and more by clicking here. You’ll see some national parks on this page too, but also places like Machu Picchu or Buckingham Palace. Thank you to Corrine and her troop for sharing these really interesting online resources! Great job on earning your patch! I’m going to take a virtual tour now to check out some polar bears in the Artic! Happy online traveling!
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Every February celebrates Black History Month. It is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in our American history. I wanted to share this great video entitled “Twenty & Odd” and created by the National Park Service (NPS) staff and interns. The video explores 400 years of African American experience. According to the NPS, this video serves as a visual tool to inform and highlight and to educate the nation as a whole about the trauma, resilience, and beauty of the African American experience in our country. Take less than five minutes of your time and enjoy this educational, empowering, and very inspiring video, “Twenty & Odd”.
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We all know the names of Pippi, Ramona, Winnie, Sherlock, Charlie Bucket, Harry Potter, and many more. Character names represent more than a word on a piece of paper. The name of the character comes to life and becomes a real person throughout a novel. Authors take great care in naming their characters. The ideas can come from many sources and places of inspiration. In my children’s book, Turtle Tube: An Erutuf National Park Novel, I selected the names of Reese and Dean by using my children’s middle names. Reese and Dean fit their characters really well. I based other characters’ names on their personalities and characteristics. I even changed a name at one point. Olivia was originally named Eva. In the editing process, I discovered that Eva and Emma were too similar of names to have in this book. I couldn’t imagine changing Emma, so opted to change Eva to Olivia. I’m working on the second book in this series and need a name for a 5 year old boy character. I decided to ask for some help and who else best to help than a class of children. 🙂 A local fourth grade class agreed to help and all wrote down name suggestions on pieces of paper for me to review. I love the suggestions! I am really impressed how serious the students took this task and wanted to help. Thank you to Mrs. Anderson’s class for all these thoughtful and creative suggestions!
Happy National Golden Retriever Day! Started in 2012, this day celebrates one of the most popular dog breeds in the United States. Scotland first bred this type of dog for the first time back in the 1800’s. Today, golden retrievers are the third most popular breed and fourth smartest breed (behind only border collies, poodles, and German shepherds). We try to celebrate our sweet golden retriever, Evie, every day. She’s my writing buddy and officemate and she fills up my heart each day with her sweet smile, goofy noises, huge tail wags, and warm hugs. If you have read my new children’s book, Turtle Tube: An Erutuf National Park Novel, I did think about Evie while writing about Reese and Dean’s dog, Tutu, in Turtle Tube: An Erutuf National Park Novel. Tutu had to be a golden retriever! 🙂
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National parks all have iconic signs such as these two examples below from Yellowstone National and Yosemite National Park. It came to my attention recently that my national park needed a sign. To explain, I created a fictional national park as the setting in my children’s book, Turtle Tube: An Erutuf National Park Novel, called Erutuf National Park. I have a map of the national park, but no sign. I really love the idea of creating this sign as a visual for children. In particular, I like the idea of creating it to use as stickers. Stickers are the rage right now covering water bottles, laptops, and more. So, I started the process of working with a designer (as I am definitely not an artist). Here are the first few draft designs: We went back and forth with ideas and came up with this final design: I love it! And I’m having it made into stickers! Yay! Just thought I’d share a bit of author life and work today. Thanks for reading! 🙂
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Happy Library Shelfie Day! Yes, it’s a thing! The New York Public Library created Library Shelfie Day back in 2014 and it’s celebrated on the fourth Wednesday of January each day. On this day, go and enjoy many photos on social media and blogs of books on shelves. Look for the #LibraryShelfieDay. Escape the news and work deadlines and check out some fun book photos! And maybe you’ll even find a new book to check out and read! 🙂
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Happy National Handwriting Day! It is observed today on January 23 which celebrates the birthday of John Hancock. As you probably know, he’s the first man to sign the Declaration of Independence. His autograph became so famous that we now commonly use ‘John Hancock’ as another term for ‘signature.’ To celebrate this fun day, write a letter to someone; start a journal; try out calligraphy; or buy yourself a fancy pen to use.
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