Left: Three book bags made by Mililani eighth graders
What child wouldn’t want a hand-crafted book bag decorated with fun characters such as the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Little Red Hen, or Cat in the Hat to tote around his or her favorite picture books? Well, 60 children of prisoners participating in Read To Me’s Waiawa prison literacy project got just that, crafted by students at MililaniMiddle School.
This fall ’09 service-learning project was thought up by Mililani Middle School art teacher Susan Satogata when she was looking for a way to give back to the community and make art projects apply to real life. The idea took hold when she spoke with an acquaintance from MililaniMissionaryChurch about the Read To Me prison literacy project at Waiawa Correctional Facility in Pearl City.
She presented the book bag concept to the two other art teachers, Seann Kojima and Russell Connelley, and they decided to make it the big end-of-semester stitchery project. Each eighth grade art student was to make a bag for a child receiving books and recorded read-alouds from a father, uncle, or grandfather at the prison.
The students loved the project. They took inspiration from their favorite childhood picture book characters, prompted by a list of recommended books provided by Deanna Espinas,Head of Library Services for the Department of Public Safety and the RTM coordinator for the Waiawa prison literacy project. Then, each student lovingly pieced and then hand-stitched felt characters onto fabric, which they sewed into a bag and finished with rope handles.
Whether or not this project will continue is up to the remaining art teachers. For Satogata, who retired in December after teaching at MillilaniMiddle School since its inception ten-and-a-half years ago, this was her last big project. But the beautiful book bags will be around for a while to come, adding extra value and love to the books sent home to children missing their family members, but excited to hear a story in their loved one’s voices.
By Anna Harmon