MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—“THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
Some people have asked me why I call myself “The Cultural Story-Weaver.”
I have been thinking about this and wanted to share a story with you.
Does anyone remember Scholastic Books?!
Living abroad for so many years, I had forgotten about Scholastic Book orders through the American school system. Once every few months, kids bring home newspaper-like catalogs full of book choices for their specific age group. You place your order, and the books are delivered to the students’ classroom a few weeks later.
Cultural Books for Children
Pierre brought home his catalog a few months ago, and I devoured the exciting selection. I love books!
Several caught my attention: World Pizza, Say Hello! and other books to teach our children about the world’s foreign cultures and foreign languages. I will share in a future post some of my favorite books and resources to help kids expand their worldview and global tapestry.
There was another book in the catalog that jumped off the page at me—The Word Collector.
Pierre brought his new books home last week, and I couldn’t wait to discover them with him.
The Word Collector
His first choice—The Word Collector, a New York bestseller.
In this fascinating little book, Peter H. Reynolds tells the story of a little boy named Jerome who collects words. He collects all kinds of words from things he hears, things he sees, things he reads. He fills his scrapbooks with his favorite words—each book a collection of similar words.
One day, Jerome slips and falls. His words go flying everywhere! As he scrambles to pick them up, he notices words next to each other that he never thought could possibly go together—like “silent orchestra,” “blue harmony,” “royal flock,” “dream cloud,” etc. It’s a revelation to him.
He begins stringing the words together in new combinations and sees the beauty in the diversity of his word choices. He creates and imagines new variations that open up new possibilities. Little by little, Jerome transforms his newly-strung words into poems, songs, stories . . .
“The more words he knew, the more clearly he could share with the world what he was thinking, feeling, and dreaming.”
—The Word Collector
Scattering Words
One day, Jerome climbs to the highest hill, pulling his collection of words behind him in a wagon. On top of the hill, he opens his bag of words and empties it into the wind. He watches from above as children in the valley below gather his scattered words. They are so happy to pick up his words, and Jerome’s heart is filled with joy as he watches from above.
Better than collecting words is sharing words with others—with the world.
As I read this book to Pierre, I realized that I am a collector. I have collected giraffes since I was knee-high, giraffes from around the world. But more than that, I have collected things from around the world.
I have collected cultural threads. Our family has collected cultural threads. We are cultural thread collectors.
Cultural Threads
In our many travels, like Jerome, we have collected words—words and sounds from various foreign languages and accents. We have collected gastronomical tastes from food dishes and fine cuisines around the world. Our family has collected multi-ethnic musical tunes and rhythms that still vibrate and beat in our hearts. We have collected pictures, sights, and memories of people, places, and things of great beauty—taking our breath away. Other images ingrained in our hearts and minds still haunt us and fill our souls with deep grief and pain. We have collected feelings along our journey—joy, fear, sadness, excitement, awe, anxiety, rejoicing, grief . . .
I have collected cultural threads—threads of all colors around the world. I still collect cultural threads.
My stories are a tapestry. My writing—my storytelling—is a weaver’s loom. My words are threads.
The Weaver
The weaver works the colored, cultural threads in her hands. She begins to string the cultural threads together in new combinations and sees the beauty in the diversity of her color choices. She creates and imagines new variations that open up new possibilities. Little by little, The Cultural Story-Weaver transforms her newly-strung threads into poems, songs, stories . . .
Like Jerome’s words, the more threads I hold, the more clearly I can share with the world what I am thinking, feeling, and dreaming.
Better than holding and collecting cultural threads is sharing these woven threads—these global tapestries—with the world. Like Jerome, it fills my heart with joy as I scatter my cultural threads in the wind.
I am The Cultural Thread Collector. I am The Cultural Story-Weaver.
—The Cultural Story-Weaver
MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—“THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
Let’s Weave Cultures!
Are you a “Cultural Thread Collector”? If so, what cultural threads do you collect and how? If not, how can you begin collecting cultural threads in your life, in your world? What would you do, where would you go, etc.?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.
The “Word Collector” story is lovely! I find myself going in too many directions sometimes, so I don’t get to read many of your posts as Cultural Story-Weaver, but they are fascinating… One day they will make a fine Book! 🙂
Thank you, Kathy. This was one of my favorite stories to write. It truly expresses my passion to “Weave Cultures”!