A Handful of Stars #bookaday July 11

Many thanks to Julieanne Harmatz for organizing an online book club where several reflective and creative teachers read Cynthia Lord's beautiful book, A Handful of Stars.  We read it with the lens of writing about reading and what we ask our students to do when they read a book.  We shared our notes as we read, which really helped me see the possibilities of how students can respond to a book.

This book would be a perfect read aloud for my third graders.  I love the themes of friendship, sacrifice, ordinary vs. extraordinary, the possibilities of art, and being inclusive.  There were so many "golden lines", often spoken by Lily's grandfather.  One of my favorites: "Times change.  And it's good that they do.  But it only happens if someone is brave enough to be first."  Lily also spoke many golden lines.  One of my favorites: "I guess that's life.  It's not always fair, but you have to show up and play your best anyway."

I am looking forward to our Twitter chat to discuss writing about reading.  We will be chatting on Tuesday, July 14th (which happens to the be the birthday of my own wise grandfather who spoke many golden lines in his lifetime.)  The time is 7:30pm EST and you can find us at #WabtR.