In the state of Louisiana, 28 percent of adults are functionally illiterate. Dee Scallan, the author of a series of six books for children about a giant red crawfish named Moby Pincher, finds this statistic devastatingly tragic, and is working to change it. In a van they call the Moby Mobile (wrapped in images of characters from her books), she and her husband, Beep, who dresses as the crawfish, are promoting literacy, one classroom at a time.
Dee (Deedee to her grandchildren) blames poor literacy on a lack of imagination. In the couple's presentations at schools in their home state of Louisiana, and in Texas, they seek to inspire young minds. The Scallans, who have six grandchildren ranging in age from 4 to 22, visit approximately 20 schools a year. They present performances based on the Moby Pincher stories, and get kids involved by using them as actors and singers.
Through a program they call We Want to Be Authors, the Scallans, both 68, encourage entire grades of children to come together to create a story, including illustrations. The couple then produces a hardcover copy of the story to be kept in the school library, as well as paperbacks for each young author. To date, 60 of these student-created books have been published, and the State Library of Louisiana, in Baton Rouge, has set aside a special section to house copies. To date, free digital versions of 27 of the books, along with related questions to ask kids, are available online at MobyPincher.com. Dee and Bee are currently seeking funding to put more books online.
"Many of these children are in areas where there is nothing," says Dee, who's been an educator for 30 years and wrote her first book in 2004. "They've never seen a movie, never gone to the skating rink. It's so rewarding to give them a book and have them take it home, to have a book they wrote on their own. For many of them, this is the first book they've owned."
Dee has been told that kids who had been on the verge of dropping out have stayed in school, and started on the path to college, because of their experiences with the program. To fund it, though, the couple has had to "beg, borrow, and plead," Dee says. An Angel Award, a grant presented annually by Blue Cross/Blue Shield, helps them carry on their work, and the Louisiana Crawfish Promotion and Research Board has given them additional funds to create the books, visit schools, and more.
Dee is the face most people see, says her daughter, Wendy Scallan, who nominated her parents, but the project is very much a family affair. "If it wasn't for Daddy [Papa to his grandkids], none of it would really happen," Wendy told us. "He's the silent hero. Dad's had four heart attacks, but he's done all the manual labor, all the behind-the-scenes, all the audio-visual." The Scallans' grandchildren help with performances as well, and have been encouraged to share their talents and reach out to others. Dee and Beep recently purchased an RV to enable them to bring their traveling literacy show to even more locations.
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