“Oh, yeah! I was shocked! Stunned! Flabbergasted! Hornwoggled! Gobsmacked!” – Nate Wright.
Sunday afternoons are for loafing around and reading comics. At least that’s my idea of the perfect Sunday.
Ben’s recommendation for the lazy weekend is a volume from the extensive Big Nate series of comic strip compilations. Ben and I discuss why Big Nate is such a hit with him, as well as with boys and girls in Grades 3 and 4. Continue reading
“Each little thing we do goes out, like a ripple, into the world.” – Ms. Albert
Each Kindness is a thoughtful and nuanced picture book about a trait that seems to be in short supply these days. The story is told in the first person, unusually from the point of view of a protagonist who is complicit in the unkindness shown to a new girl at school. However, the “heroine” (if we can call her that) is uncharitable yet not unthinking. In fact, she is relatable. What she sees in her reflection in the pond is an uncomfortable truth that resonates with all of us. We’ve all been her at some point in our lives.
“So it goes. To each his own.” – from Pangur Bán by Anonymous.
A solitary white cat approaches a brick building. All is shrouded in darkness. But the cat knows its way, as it sure-footedly climbs through an open window, then gently pads along a corridor with vaulted ceilings. Soft moonlight illuminates the interior of the monastery. The columns are strong and solemn, the floors well-swept, the wooden barrels in neat rows. The animal makes its way purposefully to a closed door from under which leaks a golden light. A feline paw reaches into the room, and the door opens.
Sophie Foster has never fit in with her classmates and family. One day, she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who tells her that the reason she never felt at home was because she has never been at her real home. Fitz reveals the shocking truth to Sophie: she’s not actually human. Continue reading
Stories That Stay With Us 