The Power of Reading

There is nothing more enjoyable, in my opinion, than reading picture books to young children.  Seeing and hearing their reactions is priceless.  Here is a quick list of some favorites that the 5-year old and I both enjoyed.

• The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School by Laurie Halse Anderson and Ard Hoyt
• The Very Cold, Freezing, No Number Day by Ashley N. Sorenson
• Wiggle by Doreen Cronin
• The Pigeon books by Mo Willems
• The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems
• It's Hard to Be Five by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
• Dragons Rule, Princesses Drool by Courtney Pippin-Mathur
• The Arthur books by Marc Brown
• Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman
• Froodle by Antionette Portis
• Not a Box by Antionette Portis 
• Baghead by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
• The Boy Who Lost His Bumble by Trudi Esberger
• Pretend by Jennifer Plecas

This is just a handful of books that kept the 5-year old's attention.  This kid used to hate being read to.  He now looks forward to me reading with him.  He even memorizes parts of books and blurts out the words before I do!  My hope is that my reading to him has opened up a new world to him.  I hope that, as he grows up, he continues to read and enjoy the books he reads.  It's becoming more and more difficult to find kids who love reading, so I take pride in knowing that I have assisted at least one child in finding his way to the literary world, where nothing is impossible.  

The Colors of Patriotism

Happy belated Independence Day!  I hope yours was as awesome as mine.  I spent the evening in Harrisburg with some friends.  There was a food truck festival going on with fireworks afterwards.  I found a food truck with a short line, so I bought myself an overpriced pretzel and strawberry lemonade and headed back to where my friends and I agreed we would meet.  I was the first one back.  So, I decided to do some people watching.
Harrisburg, though small, is a city of great diversity.  Looking around, I saw people of many different nationalities and cultures.  I heard many different languages being spoken.  But what stuck out the most was the one thing everyone had in common:  the 4th of July.
Everyone at the festival, as far as I knew, was American.  Even though some people had different colored skin and some people spoke with accents or in completely different languages, everyone was celebrating being an American.  I saw a young Muslim family waving hand-held American flags.  My friends and I sat near an African family, the parents speaking with an accent.  Everyone was so friendly and just having a good time.
This, in my opinion, is what being an American looks like.  Different colored skin.  Different accents and languages.  Different styles of dress.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the city, surrounded by my fellow patriots.