Hearing fanciful tales of the village of Orange Tiger Lilies and the wicked Meevillain, Edgebrook School 3rd graders went on a journey this week to gain insight into creative writing ideas, personality types and self-esteem.
Author Sheila Glazov of Barrington regaled the McHenry children with stories about Princess Shayna, who pursues a vision quest in the Forest of Fear. An educator, professional speaker, and creativity coach, she wrote “Princess Shayna’s Invisible Visible Gift,” a fairy tale with lessons about accepting differences in people and the value of self-esteem.
“It’s a family fairy tale, a community parable to be enjoyed by children, their parents and teachers,” Glazov said. “Self-esteem is invisible when you give it to someone and visible on them when they receive it because it shows on their faces and in how they look at the world.”
Dressed in a gold crown and fur-lined jacket, Glazov told pupils how the book evolved from an idea. She explained how she used a web to organize her ideas to form the story. A web is a tool, a free-form storyboard, that helps authors organize their thoughts using a circular pattern surrounding the central theme of a story.
“Up until now, we’ve been teaching the children power writing,” said Carol Bataille, a 3rd-grade teacher. “They’ve been using a formula to produce a five-paragraph essay in 40 minutes. Now that they have the basic foundation blocks, they can learn to use the web to be more creative.”
Pupils heard how the author’s family inspired many of the characters in the book and how different villages symbolized different personality types.
As Princess Shayna pursues her quest, she teaches the people in each village the value of their own qualities as well as those of the people in other villages.
“It’s interesting how she wrote it out and how she put the story together,” said 3rd grader Chris Madsor. “I really enjoyed seeing how she used the web.”
Teachers plan to invite Glazov to return next hear for a staff development program to learn about personality types and develop the skills to enhance self-esteem.
“The book gives people the tools to express their feelings,” said Jill Walters, school publicist and special education assistant. “We need a book like this to help us guide children without being judgmental.”
