Bookmarks

It wasn't easy designing and ordering bookmarks for my middle grade book that will be published in August. The publisher supplied the cover art, but I had to figure out the text.

That made me think about bookmarks in general. I have dozens of them in various places around the house where I'm likely to sit and read, but I don't like to use them.

Ideally it would be possible always to sit down with a good book and keep reading until the end, but life isn't always ideal. Often it's necessary to stop in the middle of reading an interesting passage and do something else. When that happens, bookmarks are a practical help, making it easy to find the right place and start reading again without flipping through pages.

Somehow using little slips of paper or turning the open book face down doesn't work nearly as well.

Okay, it's time to face the facts. Bookmarks really are a convenience and I hope kids who like to read will find mine helpful.

What a Difference the Books Made

I had never been one of the popular kids, and in grade school had been the class victim, constantly teased and made fun of because I was skinny and had asthma. That's why I was a little nervous about attending a high school reunion. When I finally went to one, to my amazement, several people said they remembered me as brave.

What? That didn't make sense at all. I'd been terrified most of the time.

But afterwards I remembered a number of incidents when I had stood up for what was right even though it had been risky to do so.

Why had I done those things?

Because that was how the protagonists in all the books I read behaved, so it never occurred to me that there was an alternative. Of course I couldn't just stand by and let injustice be done even if I might get in trouble or even hurt as a consequence.

It's really true that reading helps to develop character. Of course all media have that sort of influence on kids. It's very important to let them experience lots of stories where good values are demonstrated whether in books, TV, movies, on the net or anywhere else.

The power of story is great, wherever it is found.

Some Things Haven't Changed

I'm writing this on the Fourth of July and thinking of the way this holiday was celebrated when I was a kid. In those days children lit firecrackers in the daytime and roman candles after dark, and even the little ones played with sparklers. Where I live now all those things are illegal because of the serious danger of fires.

But other things about the celebration haven't changed. There are still parades where people hand out flags and play patriotic music, people still wear red, white, and blue, and families still gather to have barbecues and picnics.

And, even though the fireworks are all professional now, people still sit outside in the warm darkness, calling out, "Oooh," and "Wow" as they watch the beautiful colors light up the sky.

I hope our grandchildren and great grandchildren will still be able to enjoy celebrating this summer holiday in traditional ways when they grow up and have kids of their own.

Importance of Books

In this modern world full of technological advances many people are suggesting books may become obsolete. I think they're wrong.

It is true that books took the place of scrolls, paper took the place of vellum, and printed books took the place of handwritten ones. Maybe in the future people will consider e-books more convenient than hard copy ones. It would certainly be an improvement if students could read their textbooks on e-book readers instead of carrying heavy copies in their backpacks. And there are times when entertaining children with e-books on a small, hand-held device is extremely helpful.

But bookaholics like me will always enjoy turning battery-free pages and nothing can take the place of a parent reading a bedtime story out loud from a traditional picture book.

In the 1940s many people thought TV would make movies obsolete, and my grandfather told me when movies were first invented people said they would completely replace plays. Obviously neither has happened. I think there will always be room for both traditional hard copy books and whatever kinds technological advances produce in the future.

Gregor the Overlander

     No, Suzanne Collins, the author of Gregor the Overlander, is not related to me (At least not as far as I know) so when I evaluate her book my opinion is unbiased. 

     The book is a good one.

    This sci-fi fantasy for middle grade kids is about an exciting and believable world, dark and scary enough to keep the pages turning. The characters, human and otherwise, are realistic and I cared what happened to them. I especially liked "Boots," the little sister who acted like many two-year-olds I've met but wasn't just there to be cute. Her behavior caused some important incidents in the plot. 

     Gregor the Overlander is the first in a series. Unlike some series books I've read, the plot comes to a satisfying conclusion but it still leaves possibilities open for future books. Kids who like excitement will probably enjoy reading it.

Baby Talk

     Perhaps my life-long interest in Linguistics began when I was three years old. My younger brother was just learning to talk and I could usually understand him although the adults seldom could. How proud it made me feel when our parents asked me to interpret his babble for them. I could actually do something grown-ups couldn't do!

     Now I realize they were trying to decipher the sounds of individual words while I was focusing on my brother's intonation patterns, body language, and facial expressions.

     Babies don't all learn to talk the same way. Some start with individual words like "Mama" and gradually add one word at a time to their vocabularies. Others, like my brother, focus on the intonation patterns, etc., although they usually include a few intelligible words in their sentences and the number of those increases as they learn.

I wonder if babies' temperaments influence how they begin to communicate. It's not very scientific but, in my limited experience it seems like the little ones who began trying to talk with intonation patterns before using clear words became especially sociable, outgoing, and friendly children and adults. Maybe those personality traits made them more aware of the emotional side of communication. 

     Even if someone were able to collaborate that tendency by a scientific study, it wouldn't be able to show which was cause and which was effect, so I guess I'll never know if my theory is correct or not.

Stranger Danger

As a substitute teacher I was assigned to a Kindergarten class in a school where I had never worked before. When the bell rang, the children lined up on the playground and the regular teachers escorted their classes inside, but instead of following me the children I was supposed to teach just stood still, looking frightened.

     "I'm not a stranger," I explained.

     They relaxed and followed me into the classroom .

     Most children are taught not to talk to strangers or go with them, but I wonder how many know just because someone says, "I'm not a stranger" it doesn't mean they aren't.

     But they should know it is okay to go with a stranger who is wearing a uniform and helping them in case of an emergency. For example they should let a fireman take them out of a burning building, let a paramedic put them in an ambulance if they're hurt, or get into a police car with an officer who has found them if they were lost.

     Older children can understand it is okay to talk to people they don't know when those people are at work doing their jobs. For instance it's okay to talk to a salesclerk in a store, a receptionist in a doctor's office, or a librarian in a library, but they should know not to go with those people if they meet them in other places. Even if they have seen them many times at their jobs, they are still strangers.

     And it would be nice if kids understood that it's okay to follow a substitute teacher into their classroom.