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I am a Chicago girl.

It means I love the Cubs, the Sox (when they're not playing the Cubs), the Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks. It means I love the Fighting Illini. It means I hate losing but have a lot of experience with it.

It means I love the skyline and the order of the city. It means Daniel Burnham is a hero. It means I majored in urban planning and like old buildings.

It means I love libraries, especially old ones. It means I practically lived in my library when I was growing up.

It means traditions are important. It means if it was New Year's Day and I didn't have black-eyed peas, I would have to go to the store. Right away.

It means I like to create things, but I hesitate to call myself an author or an artist because, well, I am still learning. But I still like to create and hope that people find some joy in my work.

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I am a Chicago girl. It means I love the Cubs, the Sox (when they're not playing the Cubs), the Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks. It means I love the Fighting Illini. It means I hate losing but have a lot of experience with it. It means I love the skyline and the order of the...

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Activity Guide - Ideas for Using the Text With Other Content Areas

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Activity Guide - Ideas for Using the Text With Other Content Areas

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Compiled by Gail Piernas-Davenport

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It began with a big box of crayons and lots of drawing paper. And, with wonderful Picturebooks like The Golden Egg Book, by Margaret Wise Brown. My lifetime love affair with art and books started early.

From my first days at school, I was always the class artist. Teachers asked me to draw pictures to decorate classroom walls and fill bulletin boards. There was never any question. I wanted to be an artist.

In High School, I was art editor of the student newspaper, designed sets for school plays, and did program covers for any number of events. Thanks to my loving and supportive parents, I was able to take painting classes on Saturdays and attend special summer programs for art students at several local colleges and universities.

After graduating from High School, I've died and gone to heaven three times. The first was when I came to Boston to attend The School of the Museum of Fine Arts. The place was filled with people like me and my days were filled with making art. The first year, classes were 6 days a week and all about art. Academics began in the second year and when I graduated, I had a degree from Tufts University and a diploma from the Museum School. I went on to receive a Master's Degree from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and was also a special student in Illustration at the New England Institute of Art.

The second time I died and went to heaven was when I married my husband, Paul, and together we had a beautiful daughter named Kate. Kate is all grown up now, but over the years, our family has always included a canine little girl. We've had three Cairn Terriers: Munchkin, Tam-O, and Kappy. They never grow up you know.

The third time I died and went to heaven was when we moved to our current home in an area of Massachusetts called the Northshore. We are close to many art galleries, artist's studios, a spectacular annual literary festival, and... the ocean. Lucky, lucky me!

A few years ago, I surprised myself by learning to work digitally, which I now love. I also love that when viewing my work online, many friends can't tell if a given piece is digital or traditional. That was my goal. Not to trick people, but to make my digital and traditional work look indistinguishable. Over the years, I've worked with colored pencil, acrylic and oil painting. I love trying new media and especially experimenting by putting them together in different combinations. My goal has always been to keep stretching my style, to unfetter my imagination and, hopefully, to keep growing as an artist.

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It began with a big box of crayons and lots of drawing paper. And, with wonderful Picturebooks like The Golden Egg Book, by Margaret Wise Brown. My lifetime love affair with art and books started early. From my first days at school, I was always the class artist.

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Cultures and traditions vary in different parts of the world but almost all of them are meant to bring happiness, prosperity and good luck in the New Year. So if you think you can be a little more traditional this New Year, you can try any of the above.

If you do a little research you will come to know that be it the western or the eastern part of the world, New Year is celebrated with equal enthusiasm everywhere.

However, as the year in the calendar marks a transition, the various New Year Traditions and Customs followed during the period remain as it is. Here are some of the interesting ways to celebrate the New Year across the globe.

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123 New Year - New Year's Eve traditions and customs around the world

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Cultures and traditions vary in different parts of the world but almost all of them are meant to bring happiness, prosperity and good luck in the New Year. So if you think you can be a little more traditional this New Year, you can try any of the above.

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Read Aloud of the Book - Shante Keys and the New Year's Peas

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Read Aloud of the Book - Shante Keys and the New Year's Peas

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Shanté Keys & the New Year’s Peas (+Auld Lang Syne) READ/SUNG ALOUD

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Guide to Creating Text Dependent Questions for Close Reading Lessons

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Guide to Creating Text Dependent Questions for Close Reading Lessons

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Lester Laminack

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Lester L. Laminack's The Ultimate Read-Aloud Resource. Please type the last word of the quotation that opens Chapter 5.