Yellowknife (Jan 24/05) - There's nothing like puppets to attract the attention of both children and adults.

"Puppet shows draw families," said Lisa Campbell, Community Literacy Co-ordinator for the NWT Literacy Council. "It's an extension to storytelling. People are drawn to it."

That's why the Literacy Council invited puppeteer Wendy Passmore up from Calgary to perform two puppet shows and lead workshops in puppet making as part of Family Literacy Week celebrations.

"We take a very broad view of literacy," said Campbell, noting that their definition includes language, culture, storytelling and family activities, as well as reading and writing.

Passmore fondly remembers the last time she came to the NWT to work with the Literacy Council. She performed a puppet show in Rae for a crowd of excited youngsters who didn't want to miss anything.

"The kids watched me unpack and kept asking when the show would be," said Passmore with a laugh. "I'd tell them 'Four hours from now - you can go home and have dinner.'"

Passmore will visit school classes and lead the children in puppet workshops, where activities will include writing a puppet show and making puppets inspired by books and poems such as "How Do You feel," "The Endangered Elephant" and "The Box."

She'll lead a public shadow puppet workshop in Yellowknife on Family Literacy Day, Jan. 27, based on the book "My Many Coloured Days."

Passmore said she enjoys working with children and learns just as much or more from the workshops as they do.

"A lot of the material I do in the shows first appears in a workshop," said Passmore.

"They also help keep me in touch with the audience and the level they're thinking at."

For Passmore's part, puppetry is a calling.

"I don't remember making a career choice," she said.

"Puppetry is neat because you get to do all sorts of things," she said. "I go from my sewing machine, to my drill press, to using wire. Then I'm in an editing suite with a sound guy, and then in a video suite. I'm using every kind of art."

Aklavik: Open house at Moose Kerr school and an evening reading circle in the school library.

Colville Lake: Family Literacy Day in Colville Lake has been postponed to Feb. 15. On that day there will be an open house at the school, with a Valentine's Day-themed reading circle and games night.

Hay River: Growing Together and the Centennial Library will have a potluck, along with a storytelling session.

Inuvik: Inuvik Centennial Library invites readers to add their names to the Wall of Reading Stars and add the title of their favourite book to the Star Chart.

Rae-Edzo: There's an evening of storytelling, story writing and a family reading circle at the Learning Centre at 5 p.m. on Jan. 26. The next night there's a games and movie night at the Learning Centre starting at 5 p.m.