Happy Friday, and Happy Autumn!
With the start of the semester comes the start of new courses, and this fall I'm taking one course in particular that has me giddy. Last week my children's literature course started off with The One and Only Ivan. I wanted to make sure I shared a quote from the author's speech when she won the Newbery Medal for the book in 2013 because it had me smiling ear-to-ear when I came across it.
"...every time you find the right, the necessary, book for a child--a book about sadness overcome, unfairness battled, hearts mended--you perform the best kind of magic. It doesn't matter if it's about a gorilla or a nuclear physicist, a puppeteer, a motherless girl, or a clueless fish. If it's the right book, you've allowed a child to make a leap out of her own life, with all of its limitations and fears--and yes, sometimes sadness--into another, to imagine new possibilities for herself and for her world. Every time you book-talk a new title, every time you wander the stacks trying to find that elusive, well-thumbed series paperback, every time you give just the right book to just the right child, you're saying, 'You, my friend, have potential.' That is a gift. That is a miracle."
This spoke to me as I work to bring the joy of reading to all of the littles (and sometimes, the grown ups) in my life. If this is you, too, then be proud of your magic.
You can watch the full speech on youtube here.
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