Story is a powerful way to build compassion and bridge understanding between cultures. Story has the power to heal as well as teach.

Beyond Boundaries · Essays and tidbits from Nancy Bo Flood

Iowa roller coaster

Enjoy the ride

May 26, 2016

In the middle of Iowa, in the middle of corn fields newly plowed,
is a wondrous roller-coaster.
A mysterious structure made for us to terrify ourselves.
Like life. Like the writing life.

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Carrying water

Speak Out: Water

May 21, 2016

Imagine, you turn on the faucet in the bathroom. No water. Same in the kitchen, no water. You ask your neighbor, what’s happening? No one has running water. Now you need to go to the bathroom. No water in the toilet to flush. You want to wash your hands. You are thirsty.

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Rain Stick Making

Water-Write-Workshop

May 10, 2016

To begin a conversation between children and water, I presented my Water-Write-Workshop to teachers and parents at The Leonardo Museum, Salt Lake City. The workshop was held right in the middle of the museum’s amazing, inspiring water exhibit. We were surrounded with images, sounds, and words about water.

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Da Vinci’s Respect for Water

May 3, 2016

“…the body of the earth [h]as its ocean, which also rises and falls every six hours with the breathing of the worlds.” —from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

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lye soap

Make your own soap

April 26, 2016

In No-Name Baby, Sophie’s family depends on lye soap they make themselves. What was it like to create such a staple before store-sold soap became so common?

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Bill Pickett

Bill Pickett, steer wrestling pioneer

April 21, 2016

In my book Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo, I salute Bill Pickett, the fearless cowboy of Cherokee and African American descent.

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Glenda Armand and Floyd Cooper

Tucson Festival of Books

April 19, 2016

I had a lovely experience again this year at the Tucson Festival of Books. So well organized and so many people to talk with about BOOKS!

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Rose A. Tahe

Remembering Rose A. Tahe

April 14, 2016

I first met Rose when she was a student in a graduate level children’s literature class I was teaching for Northern Arizona University on the Navajo Nation. I wondered why Rose was seeking special certification in reading when she already had her master’s degree and probably was near retirement age.

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