NEWFANE — This April, student work from Dover, NewBrook, Jamaica, Townshend, and Wardsboro schools will be on display at the Moore Free Library and Crowell Gallery.
Unified Arts teachers in the West River and River Valley school districts have been collaborating in connection with Vermont's Red Clover books.
The Red Clover Book Award is designed for children in kindergarten through fourth grade. Each year, thousands of Vermont school children read the 10 nominated picture books and vote for their favorite in the spring. The award has been handed out annually since 1997.
This winter, students listened to two Red Clover Books: The Midnight Fair, written by Gideon Sterer and illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio, and Someone Builds the Dream, written by Lisa Wheeler with illustrations by Loren Long.
Students created art, made music, wrote fiction, and moved their bodies in a multi-disciplinary unit of study. The artwork, both 2D and 3D, on display was inspired by the books' themes: nighttime, forest creatures, and The Fair.
Some students even built “the fairground dream-ride” of another student's drawn-design. Students also collaborated to create their own musical score to accompany the wordless Midnight Fair. Student writing exploring what it might feel like to be an animal looking in on a fair will also be on display.
This artwork will be on exhibit Friday, April 7, through Saturday, April 29, at the library and gallery.