Arrrrr you ready for pirates?
September 19, 2023ARRR!! Avast! Scurvy! … ummm, bilge?
There is a scene in Disney’s 2003 blockbuster “The Curse of the Black Pearl '' in which an experienced pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, and a total novice, William Turner, commandeer a British warship. As they charge up to the British sailors, young William gets caught up in the moment and shouts, “Avast!” – at which everyone bursts into laughter. Clearly, in this cinematic universe, that is not how pirates talk. And perhaps you too have tried to talk like a pirate, only to stumble after a few words on the realization that you don’t actually know many “pirate words.” Apparently, real pirates didn’t either! As much fun as it is to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th), the whole concept is based on, shall we say, revisionist history. Real pirates most likely just talked like everybody else. How boring!
Fortunately, the pirate genre in literature (and film) has never bothered much with historical accuracy, and far be it from us to break with tradition. And with that in mind: let's talk about our new pirate story!
Pirate Problems is our very first pirate story, written and narrated by Ryan Aoto. It centers on the short-tempered Captain Cross. Stranded on a deserted island with a broken boat and an incompetent crew, Captain Cross has sought solitude. He knows knows that blowing up at his crew could lead to mutiny. Yet, before long it becomes clear that without his guidance, they will never fix their ship and get off the island. Although irreverent and fun on a superficial level, the story addresses some serious topics: Teamwork. Sense of Duty. Selfishness. And of course Anger, and how to deal with it (or how not to).
Listen and share, Dial-A-Story mateys! Yo Ho Ho!
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Now Hiring: Spanish Content Developer
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Introducing Mariam-- Farsi Content Developer
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5 Back to School Stories
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5 benefits of listening to stories... and more
July 15, 2022A social media post you can share with your community, a few new stories, and an invitation to join an upcoming online workshop.
Listen Up! LibraryCall Enhances StoryWalks® with Audio Option
July 8, 2022LibraryCall is pleased to introduce LibraryCall Soundtrack, a new service that allows libraries, museums, and galleries to add a low-cost audio component to existing self-paced exhibits, including popular library StoryWalks®.
Two Tips to Increase Dial-A-Story Visibility
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New summer story alert!
May 27, 2022A Camping Trip, our newest story, pairs perfectly with iRead's Read Beyond the Beaten Path theme. We also offer our members printable Story Sheets and a Summer Reading outreach tip.
Welcoming Stephaney Cortes Alvarado
May 23, 2022We are happy to announce the addition of Stephaney Cortes Alvarado to our growing content development team. Stephaney will be responsible for Spanish translations and original stories.