Here Comes the Storybook Man!
Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive!
This summer, you, your friends and family, and neighbors will be able to join award-winning performing arts storyteller, J’miah Nabawi, in the celebration of books and the power of reading through the enchantment of folktales and interactive storytelling.
Produced and presented by J’miah Nabawi, Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive!™ is an upbeat program of folktales from various oral traditions and the animated reading-aloud of picture books and literature combined with interactive storytelling. The program was put in place to help resist the phenomenon known as the “Summer Slide.”
(Briefly, the “Summer Slide” is when educational and academic gains students make in the classroom during the school year begin to be forgotten, to slip away, those several weeks that children are out of school.)
Nonetheless, with all the play involved, and especially for teachers using Arts Integration strategies to make connections to Academic and Performance Standards, the Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive!™ program touches on topics in Science; Math; Language Arts; Music; and creative movement that may connect with National Physical Education Standards. We will sing, shout, read-aloud, and clap our hands in French; Spanish; Gullah; Ki-Swahili (Swahili); Twi; Yoruba; Japanese; Hindi; and of course, English.
Kicking things off this summer in Savannah, GA, Storyteller J’miah Nabawi and Team Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! are encouraging grass-roots community-based organizations and city and state-run agencies that provide social services to children and families; manage women shelters; our military veterans and their families; and provide facilities and services for the homeless and unhoused, underserved rural, migrant, and immigrant communities, to get involved as “Location Sites” for this program. There will be no artist performance fees, honorariums, or materials cost for you for this program. We encourage you to apply to be a “presentation location site” for your constituency at no cost.
Empowering Communities Through Books and Storytelling
Thanks to Boston Massachusetts Mayor, the late Tom Menino, Boston Public Libraries, and a newly organized comprehensive Literacy Initiative named “READ Boston,” a newly fitted, wrapped, and transformed Boston Public Library RV bookmobile was publicly Christened as the “Storymobile” and storyteller J’miah Nabawi would eventually become known as the “Storybook Man.
J’miah was contacted by the Mayor’s office and invited to be part of READ Boston as their inaugural storyteller to ride in the “Storymobile” that would be loaded down with books to give away after the storytelling and storybook reading. Throughout the week, the driver, some Boston Public Library staff and J’miah would fan out across Boston and nearby towns. Making stops at community centers; local social services agencies; federal housing sites; library branches; women shelters; parks and recreation centers; community public gardens; summer schools and day camps, made for a very busy week and a week of excitement and joy to see the faces of the children and families light up when the “Storymobile” pulled up and gave those few beeps of the horn. “Here comes the storybook man!, a little girl shouted out one day, and I kept using the name from that day on. We were serving books and storytelling!” ~ J’miah Nabawi
Years later, J’miah would take his READ Boston experience to Philadelphia and assist the NFL Philadelphia Eagles’ Youth Partnership and their inaugural Family Literacy program. He would again get to ride on a RV filled with books. This time, a green RV wrapped and fitted in the colors of the NFL Philadelphia Eagles’ football team and a large, broad head shot in jersey #53 on the sides of the RV of Eagles’ Defensive Lineman, Hugh Douglas who initiated and sponsored the Family Literacy Initiative.
In time, perhaps we’ll learn more about those stories; however, for now, learn how J’miah Nabawi plans to use those experiences this summer in Savannah as the “Storybook Man,” perhaps not with the RV but for sure he’ll have some books and storytelling.
(Heyyy, anybody out there wanna gift J’miah an RV to use for his “Storymobile?”)
~ WorldBeat Books
Reading-aloud and Interactive Storytelling
“Reading aloud with Mayor Tom Menino to kick off READ Boston’s inaugural Literacy Program at a few of the housing sites and community centers to a mix of Pre-K to 3rd grade level children was awesome . . . and the kids LOVED it!” ~ Storyteller J’miah Nabawi
Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! will bring books to life with animated character voices, impromptu audience participation that may include hand-held rhythm instruments to offer dynamic programming and lively performances.
Learn more and how to get involved!
Community Outreach
From no cost to low cost, we will collaborate and partner with grass-roots organizations and city and state-run agencies that provide children and families services, manage women shelters and assist our military veterans and underserved rural communities to present a variety of programs for children and youth.
Do you have books that you are unboxing and would like to have Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! come join you and do some reading aloud?
Yes, we also do Book Fairs. Contact us!
There's Rhythm in the Telling of a Tale
“Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! is now available to expand its reach to teens, middle schoolers, with its WorldBeat Books program here in Savannah. The focus is more on creating “storytelling ensembles” with a core group rhythm ensemble. That’s what’s been done during my Arts Education Residencies held at Southside Middle School (Florence, SC) over the years. Let me tell you, you see those 7th and 8th graders in the photo here. They’re Drama I and Drama II students who KNOW how to ROCK the HOUSE bringing ‘Storybooks Alive!’ tell a folktale, a nursery rhyme, or some scientific explanation about Humpty Dumpty and his great fall. It is all Storybooks Alive! at its BEST!” ~ J’miah Nabawi
A good fit for Summer Day Camps that have more teens enrolled and would like to get their hands on some hand drums, beaded gourds, and all to just make a little joyful noise within their day using hand-held instrumentation.
“Arts integration requires that students do more than repeat (a song), copy (an art project), or follow directions. They must create something that is original and of value. The creative process in the arts is a process not a single event.”
~ The Kennedy Center
We believe in the power of reading and storytelling to inform, inspire, encourage self-discovery.
Storyteller J’miah Nabawi and Team Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! are professionals and experts in their creative fields. They know what it takes to keep children (and youth of all ages) engaged for the duration of a presentation. Audiences of all ages are invited to participate as we create an unforgettable experience with the combination of Reading Aloud and interactive Storytelling.
"The students at Jasper Elementary love J'miah. J'miah can tell stories, write and direct plays that are performed school-wide, teach small groups and make children laugh and smile. If he had a cape, he could fly . . . at least the children think so."
"Mr. Nabawi is one of Savannah's most visible and favored storytellers. . . . The leadership and service that he continues to provide through his profession is legendary here amongst Savannahians."
"Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! sparked my child's love for reading. The interactive storytelling was magical!"
"As a teacher, I found the educator workshops invaluable. How Mr. Nabawi used a Dramatic Arts activity called the 'TABLEAUX' with teams of impromptu actors amongst the students transformed my classroom into a hub of creativity!"
"Thank you, Mr. J'miah, for bringing joy to our shelter. The stories lifted our spirits during challenging times."
Please join us with our GOFUNDME campaign!
Thanks again for your support!
Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! Can Make a Difference
Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! can make a difference with Family Literacy and connecting neighbors to neighborhoods with Books and Storytelling.
Discover the reasons why schools, summer camps, theater companies, neighborhood groups, and parent universities may want to collaborate with Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! “Make us your premier choice for literacy initiatives and connecting people to people at social in-gatherings.”
An Acclaimed Professional Storyteller, J'miah Nabawi is Known to Fully Deliver a Storybooks Alive! Program
Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! captivate audiences with engaging interactive performances, bringing stories to life in unforgettable ways. "J'miah's work passes on tradition, teaches language, and helps develop a love of storytelling. ANANSE Makes It So! is a lively, appealing book and consistent with who he really is—which is why we've continued to use him over the years for our library programs." ~ Judy Strong, retired Youth Services Coordinator, Live Oak Public Libraries, Savannah, GA
Community Impact
Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! networks with community partners to bring the joy of storytelling and reading-aloud to underserved populations, enriching lives and promoting literacy in diverse communities. "Bilingual in Spanish and a poly-glot of sorts, J’miah Nabawi also tell stories from around the world and is known to incorporate story and theme-specific vocabulary, songs and text in the languages of Twi, Spanish, French, Yoruba, Japanese, Gullah and Ki-Swahili during his performances." ~ WorldBeat Books Our Five-week Summer Program can also be supported by the purchasing of any of the books here on Amazon written (and performed) by J'miah Nabawi.
Educational Excellence by Integrating the Arts
Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! is available to collaborate and partner with educators; arts organizations; schools; colleges and universities; museums; clubs; and advocates for the arts to offer your members and constituency innovative interdisciplinary Arts Integration programming and workshops that may supplement and enhance your objectives, vision, and mission. We're also open to online ZOOM presentations that will provide easier access to what we are doing locally. Contact us!
Summer Enrichment
Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! can offset the "Summer Slide" with dynamic no-cost to low-cost programs that ensure children and youth stay engaged and inspired to learn all summer long. Are you a Block Captain who wants to close off the street for a particular day or weekend for the purpose of having a "Play Street?" Books for Growing Minds Storybooks Alive! Five-week Summer Program will do Play Streets. Contact Us!
We are presently curating children's books to put on order. We are open to ideas and suggestions for titles, discount agents, and book sellers for ages K-3rd grade and the middle grades between 4th and 7th grade. Contact us with your suggestions!
Have any questions? Please get in touch with us!
Email us your inquiery and please leave a phone number. We'll email a reply and set up a phone call.
storybooksalive@gmail.com
