linda m. mitchell

It’s reassuring to know that the social and emotional well-being of children is gaining increasing attention lately. There are currently so many books available for parents, teachers and caregivers on this topic! Some authors are hoping to connect directly with young readers, too. Linda M. Mitchell is the author of a children’s book called How Are You Today?, which she describes as a celebration of children’s emotions. Phonetic Planet was able to chat with Linda recently, and learned about her enduring love of literacy which was fostered in childhood.

Where in the world did you grow up, Linda?

I grew up in Chicago, Illinois, the third largest city in the United States. My neighborhood was walking distance from the beach and my schools. I lived in a large apartment with my parents, my paternal grandmother, two older sisters and a younger brother. The bustling downtown area that we called "The Loop" was a quick bus or train ride away. When I was a child, I visited The Loop wearing my black patent leather shoes and white gloves. To this day, whenever I visit Chicago, I never get tired of seeing its beautiful skyline of tall skyscrapers set against the azure backdrop of Lake Michigan.

What are some of your favorite memories from childhood?

I had a delightful childhood! I grew up with two older sisters and a younger brother. We all were only about one year apart. My dad was a mailman but also a salesman. He hustled to sell life insurance and Electrolux vacuum cleaners. My mom did not work outside the home. I have so many favorite memories from childhood. I loved the picnics mom packed for us when we went to the park or the beach. She made sweet red Kool-Aid and bologna sandwiches that we ate while sitting on a navy plaid blanket. I loved going to the concession stand at the beach and buying Baby Ruth or Butterfinger candy. I remember riding in a child seat on the back of my dad's bike. We rode to a park called Farmer's Field where my dad played tennis and us kids got to play on the playground. I remember going to an amusement park called Riverview where I rode on a Ferris Wheel and ate cotton candy. Our parents took us to museums, art fairs, movies, and plays at the Goodman Theater. I'll never forget my fascination of watching the heavy red velvet theater curtains gradually open for the show.

Some of my favorite times at home were playing outdoor games with my siblings and neighborhood friends. We played "Hide and Go Seek," "Simon Says," and "Red Light." While indoors, we played a lot of board games. My favorites were Scrabble for Juniors, Hands Down, Pick-up Sticks, and Sorry. I think my love of words started with playing so much Scrabble. My mom said the board games kept us occupied while she cooked or did chores. When my eight cousins visited, it was one loud, rowdy time with a lot of laughing and some arguing of course.

My mom kept our apartment clean and organized, but we had to help. She gave us a list of chores to do on Saturdays. I had to dust or vacuum, and we always had to straighten up our bedrooms. We would do our chores after we watched Saturday cartoons like "Mighty Mouse," "Underdog," or "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle." I shared a room with my two sisters for a period of time, and then my older sister got her own room, which was good because she was messy!

Besides Saturday morning cartoons, I remember watching other TV shows with my family. We loved to watch Walt Disney movies, the Ed Sullivan Show, Lawrence Welk, basically anything that was musically inspired. My parents loved music. I remember watching them dance together when Dad played records from his vast record collection. They did the bop and twist to artists such as Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole and so many others. As a kid, I enjoyed their music, but I also cultivated my own tastes for funk and pop music. Put on a James Brown hit, and I would dance my feet off! I liked any music that I could dance or sing to. That's why I did not care for rock music. Speaking of singing, another favorite childhood memory was singing with my siblings. We loved to sing and harmonize together. We pretended we were the Lennon Sisters or The Jackson 5. The singing never stopped for me. I sang in choirs all throughout school, and I sing on the worship team at church today.

As a teenager, I have fond memories of curling up with a romance book or a teen magazine on Saturday afternoons. I was an avid reader and a proud card-carrying member of the public library. The public library was another comforting place within walking distance from my home. My mom also got us into book clubs like "The Happy Hollisters." I relish the fun times I had reading our monthly Highlights magazines. I loved the Goofus and Gallant and Hidden Pictures features. I still enjoy hidden pictures games in the puzzle magazines I do on a regular basis. On Saturday evenings, when we were older, mom let us fix our own meals. My siblings and I loved to make hamburgers and fries or spaghetti.

People say every home has some sort of dysfunction, but if mine did, and I'm sure it did, I was oblivious to it as a child. My needs were met, and I felt loved, provided for, and nurtured.

Do you remember one special place with particular fondness?

School! I loved school. From my early days in kindergarten all the way through high school, school was a happy place for me. I excelled in school and always got good grades. I had lots of friends and got along well with others. I remember liking reading, art and music. I was in a Hansel and Gretel play in first grade and sang a solo (very scary!). Math was fun because to me it was like solving puzzles. I always lived within walking distance of my three schools--elementary, middle, and high school. I have sweet memories of my mom holding my hand and walking me to my first day of school. I cried so hard and did not want to let go of my mom. That was my first childhood trauma. Of course, things got better. So much so that I embraced all aspects of school, except for sports. I was never athletic but I loved to dance. In high school, I joined the modern dance club and was captain of my pom-pom squad. That meant I got to choreograph a lot of our routines. Choreography tapped my need to be creative, which, when I look back, was always a particular drive for me.

How has your childhood inspired you to live the life you are currently living?

Whatever I do, it must involve creativity. It could be creating an article, an event, an organization, a project, or a solution to a household problem. Creating a good family requires creativity. When I was a kid, I loved creating art, songs, and jewelry. I loved throwing parties for my friends because I got to create an atmosphere of enjoyment and hospitality. If I am traveling, I like to create an itinerary.

I found that being a teacher was a highly creative endeavor. I did not know this though when I was around 18 years old and deciding on a college major. I briefly thought about becoming a teacher, but silly me, I thought it was a monotonous career with no adventureor creativity. Boy, was I wrong! I majored in journalism in college and envisioned an adventurous career as a magazine writer traveling the world and meeting interesting people. After college, and a couple of years of law school, I got married and became a stay-at-home mom for around fifteen years.

After 9/11, I was awakened with a strong desire to do something I always longed to do: teach people to read. An opportunity opened for me to become a teacher. Teaching became the most creative thing I ever did. I created extracurricular activities. I created opportunities for my students to experience their own creativity through music, art, history, and science clubs. After six years of teaching a range of grades, I realized that teaching had been a calling for me, a creative one, that fed me intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.

Please tell us about The Metro East Literacy Project.

The Metro East Literacy Project (MELP) is the culmination of everything I have ever done. It gives me the platform to continue to teach, not about academic subjects, but about the importance of literacy to enrich our human lives. I define literacy as the ability to read, write, and understand words. I started MELP because my maternal grandmother could not do any of those things. She was completely illiterate but became a successful cook. My mom taught her to write her name and count. After school, she would go to my grandmother's restaurant to help her read the recipes. When my grandmother would come to visit on Sundays, I saw my mother reading letters to her. It wasn't until I was an adult that I learned my grandmother was illiterate and could not read the letters from her son who was in the U.S.Navy. I vowed that I was going to teach people to read.

Nearly 800 million adults in the world are illiterate. In the United States, authorities report that only 35 percent of fourth graders are proficient readers. To me it hurts deeply to see people struggling to do the thing that I love to do so much that gives me extreme joy. MELP is a nonprofit that is working to spread the message of literacy and to give books to families that need them. I believe reading can be transformative, empowering people to make changes in their lives for the better. That is why writers across the literary spectrum are always touting their books. Currently, MELP is a small nonprofit that is just getting off the ground even though it has been in existence since 2012. After some breaks for full-time work, it is what I solely focus on now. In this last third of my life, it is my divine mission for MELP to become an influential literacy organization that serves under-resourced people of my community.

Linda, can you recommend a special book, or books, from your childhood?

A deep concern right now is for children to have books with images that look like them and reflect their culture. I didn't have any of that growing up. We had Dick and Jane readers, Nancy Drew books, Boxcar children, and magazines that did not show black children. (As an aside, my toys, dolls specifically, were the same way. Everything was white.) But I learned to read well anyway. Our teachers demanded it. I eventually saw myself in magazines and newspapers such as Ebony, Jet, and the Chicago Defender. African American children today have many choices of books with diverse images. They can now see themselves which is important for building self-confidence and self-esteem. They won't have to spend many years like I did overcoming feelings of inferiority.

Nevertheless, I recommend that people read what's available to them. For developing language, I loved reading nursery rhymes. It may be a lost art today, but I can still recite many of them. It gave me a foundation for the sound and syntax of the English language. My favorite genre is memoirs and biographies. As a kid, I remember my mom reading a biography of Sammy Davis Jr. called "Yes I Can." Seeing her example got me started on reading biographies. Learning about other people develops empathy and awareness of other people’s trials and triumphs. Another magazine I loved as a young person, and still do today, was Reader's Digest. I turned to the humor sections, people profiles, the short stories, and the artwork on the back page. I was introduced to the Roots saga by Alex Haley through the Reader's Digest. But the best thing the Reader's Digest did for me was enhance my love for vocabulary. I fell in love with the Ways to Enrich Your Word Power quizzes. Having a broad vocabulary has helped me become a good communicator because usually I find the apt word to get my message across.  

I recommend any book that captures the interest of the readers. Sounds trite, but when parents tell me their kids are not interested in reading, I challenge them to find something that captures the kid's interest. It's out there for sure in either digital or print formats.

Of course, we are delighted to donate some of our Phonetic Planet Readers to Linda’s life-changing program ! What an inspiration she is! You can learn more about Linda and the Metro East Literacy Project at the following link: https://www.metroeastliteracyproject.org

For more information about Linda’s books, please click here: https://www.lindamitchellbooks.com

Linda also has two YouTube channels!

• Literacy Journeys with Linda Interviews. Literacy is Liberation.

• Linda’s puzzle solving tips. Penny Press Puzzle Lady

Thank you, Linda, for sharing your abundant positive energy with the Phonetic Planet community!