Inviting myself...

The middle school had a visit from me last Thursday, September 9. I had found a picture-book about 9/11/2001 which I had to share with someone. My usual crowd of pre-schoolers was out of the question. I invited myself to an eighth grade English class, and was rewarded with a group of attentive, respectful students. What a great experience!

What was the book? 14 Cows for America, by Carmen Agra Deedy. On September 11, 2001, Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah was far from his home in Kenya. He was in New York City. The events of that day impacted him in an enormous way. When he returned to Kenya in the spring, he shared his story with the people of his remote Maasai village, who had not yet heard about the terrorist attacks.

In order to truly appreciate the message of the book, you must understand that, in the words of Kimeli, "To the Maasai, the cow is life."

Kimeli owned one cow. Just one, in a culture where the wealth of a person is determined by how many cows he owns.

With the blessing of the elders of his tribe, Kimeli set aside his only cow as a living offering to comfort the pain of a nation. That cow was joined by thirteen more from other members of Kimeli's village who also felt the need to do something for the American people. They invited the United States Ambassador to Kenya to come to a special dedication ceremony, because, as Carmen Agra Deedy writes, "There is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort."

Those fourteen cows are considered sacred and, as such, will never be used for food or any other purpose. They remain under the care of the tribe who have tended them so well and the herd now numbers over 30.

School visits, revisited

I have had occasion to whine about students' behavior during classroom visits, but my trip to the High School today to speak to two of Ms. Harmon's ninth-grade English classes was wonderful! Thanks, guys (and girls!) for you attention, your interaction, and your lack of rudeness. You are one of the reasons I look forward to my job every day.

The other reasons I look forward to my job are your younger siblings, cousins, neighbors, friends. I love kids of all ages and types and I want to help each of you just the right book to fire up an appreciation (if not outright passion) for reading.

When people talk about a love of reading, they so often mean a love of fiction. But there are so many other things to read! In the world of non-fiction, there is biography, how-to, did-you-know-that, look-how-pretty, look-how-scary... See? Many things. And don't forget magazines and newspapers!

So, come to the library. Let me help you find the right book.

High School visits and other mis-adventures

Yesterday I was at the high school to talk to the students in three different English classes. I talked about the new Summer Reading Program theme (Make Waves @ your library), the services the library has to offer, all the different kinds of materials you can check out of the library, and about various books I have read over the last few months.

The books were: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman; The Juvie Three, by Gordon Korman; The Tree Shepherd's Daughter, by Gillian Summers; 42 Miles, by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer; Scat, by Carl Hiassen; and Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson. I was going to discuss Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and also Soul Surfer, by Bethany Hamilton, but I was unable to obtain copies on time.

Sadly, not too many of the kids were attentive. Some chatted with each other, some stared vacantly into space, some unabashedly closed their eyes and went to sleep. I was quite discouraged, let me tell you. Is this how y'all treat your teachers? If so, I'm sad for them. How disheartening.

The title of this post includes "other mis-adventures," and I have plenty to relate, but I'm beginning to sound whiny. I think that means it's time to stop.