The Box

When I left teaching 5th grade five years ago, Alice was 3 and Audrey just 1.  I packed up some of my favorite chapter books and nonfiction texts in a box--which moved with us to our Noblesville home.  I remember debating whether or not I should box them up ,and if I'd really remember to tap into this box (quite large) in five or seven years when my toddler would be reading chapter books.

Last week, I brought up the box from the cellar--Slightly dusty.  Alice, my now 8 year old was thrilled.  We opened it up like Christmas morning and looked at the collection of books- many worn from my former students who enjoyed them as much as me.   I pulled out Heartbeat, by Sharon Creech - one of my favorite read alouds and we began reading it together.

I found myself feeling a bit possessive of the book-- wanting only me to read it aloud to her, the way I read it aloud to my 5th graders.  But of course she wanted to keep reading it at night, so I caved.

This book is a collection of short poems which tell the story of 12-year old Annie, who loves to run.  Run free, outside, barefoot, and without limitations:

I can go at my own pace
and let my head go free
and let the apples turn and roll 
in my mind.

As with all poetry, this book has a rhythm.  When she runs, it's "thump, thump,"a steady rhythm that keeps here life in sync when the world around her is changing.

In this book, one of my favorite poems is when the track coach wants Annie to join the track team when she hears she's "quite a good runner."  Annie, who has NO interest, thinks to herself

No one gets to run her heart out
no one runs barefoot
no one smiles

No one can let her hair go free

And some always the winner looks proud
and the loser looks forlorn

and I can't understand why they 
would spoil
such a good thing
as running.  

What's I love about this conversation is the power struggle Annie recognizes between and adult and child.  As the coach continues to pressure her, and Annie tries her best to say no, Annie recognizes that this is a no win conversation between her and the track coach.

but I know the coach will not leave me alone
until I say something that lets her win 
and so I say
"Okay, maybe I'll come watch.

But I don't mean it.  

I bolded the above because I find it so thought provoking.  A child recognizing that adults must win,  adults have the final say, and adults always know best.  The voice of the child becomes silenced, and Annie fully recognizes this.

Annie's art teacher hands out an apple to each of her students and asks them to draw an apple a day, for 100 days.  As Annie draws, the world around her changes, her relationship changes, and her perspective on life changes as she begins to come to grasp with these changes and the importance of perspective.  Yes, perspective-- she realizes that she does not need the apple to draw it.  She know the apple and shares,

I can draw the apple
that's in my mind

So she begins to draw her apple in her mind with one bit out of it, diminishing more each day until the 100th apple is just the core.

So much symbolism exists in this book that would allow for HOTS discussion with students.  So much is left to interpretation and the conversation with students can lead to important discussions on life, happiness, and change.

At the International Literacy Association Conference this summer, I had the pleasure of hearing Kwame Alexander speak and share selections of his 2015 award winning novel, The Crossover.  Which is also a collection of short poems to tell a story-- a story about a boy and his love for basketball.  Alexandar shares how his writing influences struggling readers, struggling male readers, to get hooked on reading and view poetry in a new light.  He shares how Creech's work in Heartbeat, and Love that Dog, influenced him as an author.  You can watch his keynote speech here-- It's great!

This will be my post for next week as my daughter and I are about 1/2 way through the book!

~Dr. K.