Anna and Barbara Fienberg have written a series of books about a little bloke called Tashi that we just love so we have decided to share them with you through this Book Rap.

A Book Rap is a just a discussion about books among kids who like the books which uses email to share our thoughts.  Teachers can find out more about them by clicking here and choosing Book Raps.

To write this Rap each of us chose our favourite Tashi book and then we chose our favourite story in that book.  We read the books and then we had to write four questions that would make you think.

When we had each written our questions, we had to choose the best four for each story. We also had to write a blurb about the story and a little bit about ourselves.

We have worked very hard on this but we have really enjoyed it.  We hope you do too.. 

You are invited to join in our Book Rap.

To do this, all you have to do is send us an email that tells us about your class, your school, where you live and your favourite Tashi book. And tell us which book you want to rap about!

Just click on this picture to contact us!

Please send us your introduction by Friday June 1, 2001 so we can share these with everyone.  We are going to make a map that shows where each school is.

 

Week 1 (May 28 - June 1)	Choose the Tashi Book you want to study. Send us an email introducing yourself. We will put all the introductions on this site and create a map to show where everyone is.
Week 2 (June 4 - 8)	Read the story you are going to rap about. Click on the cover of the book to discover Rap Point 1. Read the first question for your story. Brainstorm it with the other students in your group and make notes about all your ideas. Discuss these ideas and work out an answer that you are all happy with. Appoint a Rap Rep to type your answer as an email. (This should be a different person each week.) To open a direct email link click on the picture of Tashi. Send us your response. Check the site to see who else is studying this story and what they are saying.
Week 3 (June 11 - 15)	Read and discuss Question 2 and send us your response.
Week 4 (June 18 - 22)	Read and discuss Question 3 and send us your response
Week 5 (June 25 - 29)	Read and discuss Question 4 and send us your response
Week 6 (July 2 - 6)	Rap Wrap - tell us what you liked and what you learned. Take part in an opportunity to interview Anna Fienberg. Preview Tashi and the Dancing Shoes

 

 

Tashi

Tashi and the Baba Yaga

Tashi and the Demons

Tashi and the Genie

Tashi and the Giants

Tashi and the Ghosts

Tashi and the Big Stinker

Rap Map

A letter from Anna Fienberg .....

Dear Tashi fans and rappers,
I was very excited to hear that you all exist, and I've only taken so long
to say hello because I've been stuck here in dinosaur land with a computer
that didn't work and a jurassic park mentality...in other words, I still
have a long way to go with the internet and e mail. Tashi could do it all in
a flash, I'm sure, if he'd just sit down a moment and talk to me. (He's got
these new dancing shoes which help him leap up walls and across ceilings!
Psst! You'll see them in July...)
I also had trouble clicking on the Readers web site - but I'll get there
eventually, won't I??? Kim Gamble has promised that when he's next here to
visit me, he'll log on and talk to you too. (He doesn't have the internet,
or even a computer, but he can use a knife and fork, I swear.)
    I must admit that I still use a pen and notebook for writing, especially
when I get a good idea in the bus and have to write it down straight away.
(Pens fit in your handbag much better than computers, don't they.)
    Anyway,, it's good to say 'hi' and hopefully I'll hear about your side
of the world next time.
         love from Anna Fienberg
                    xx00

 

Genevieve of the Chisholm Rappers has written her own story about Tashi that she would like to share with you. It is called Tashi and the spells. 

Chapter 1 Jack pulled Tashi outside. 'Hey Tashi, want to look for spells?' said Jack. 'I've lived with spells' said Tashi, 'when I was in the village. The spells came when I went into the village at night. I got turned into a dog, a talking dog. The people didn't know it was me. 

Chapter 2 The spell wouldn't be broken until the spells had gone. When they did go I was left as a dog, so that night I followed the spells to the Land of Spells. I bumped into a lot of spells, cat spells, mouse spells, people spells. I bumped into a people spell and became a person but I forgot my way home because I had followed the spells to get there. Then I remembered. Everyone was happy to see me. I was still a bit hairy. 

Chapter 3 These little white pieces of spell came floating down. They were good spells so we captured them. If we put them under a baby's pillow they would grow up as a flower.' 

The Chisholm Rappers hope that you enjoy Genevieve's story as much as they did.