14 NOVEMBER, 2019
A wish for all the children in my life, this Children’s Day…may books inspire you:
To care… To be brave… Enough… To raise your voice… When it matters.
May you encounter… Adults… who value Your voice… Your cares… No matter how little… May they not… Belittle.
Read… To know What's right… And what's not… To discern… The fake… From the real.
To learn to think… For yourself.
( Written by JoAnne Saldanha)
As I sat down this morning with my cuppa coffee, I wondered what is it that I would wish for my own children, my students who feel like my own and children every where. And I thought, what I really want them to do is to be able to think, discern, not parrot and I wish for them to encounter adults who encourage them to speak up. Unfortunately our society revels in the adult being right…and it is often not so.
To quote randomly from Toni Morrison’s “PLEASE, LOUISE” …
”Please, Louise, please, please. Things are not always what they seem”
“Scary thoughts are your creation when you have no information.”
Here are a few books from my own collection, which I love for raising the need to speak up, speak your mind, and dissent, if needed.
* CLICK, CLACK MOO COWS THAT TYPE by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin A wonderfully hilarious story about farm animals who type out their demands to Farmer Brown, who strike when their demands are not met and most importantly to learn the art of negotiation!!
* BOOK UNCLE AND ME by Uma Krishnaswami I love this book which was suggested by Asha Nehemiah. Yasmin and her friends plan to take action and ‘do something’ about the fact that their favourite Book Uncle who sits on the corner of the street running a free lending library, is in trouble.
* HANDS AROUND THE LIBRARY-PROTECTING EGYPTS TREASURED BOOKS by Susan L. Roth and Karen Leggett Abouraya A true story about how thousands of students, library workers, children and other members of the public, both young and old, surrounded the Great Library of Alexandria by joining hands around it to protect the structure and the books within. The library stood for the democratic ideas that they were fighting for. The stood strong during the Arab Spring, not too long ago, in January 2011 A people united about their love for books and their library, even when in turmoil.
* THE LAND OF MANY COLOURS the children of the Klamath County YMCA Family Preschool A young child speaks up and reminds the different kinds of people who are fighting and hurting each other, that although they may be different, they are all the same. A beautiful book, for the youngest child.
* BULLY by Patricia Polacco PP takes on popular kids, bullying, cyber bullying, cheating, lying and one young girls guts to stand up to the bullies.
* THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT by Oliver Jeffers Couldn’t help but add this here coz I love that the crayons find their voice!!!
Will add more, as I find them.
Read to think!!