One of my favorite parts of summer is the freedom this season offers.
While it’s wonderful to explore literature through a structured curriculum, there’s a different kind of wonder in meandering through the literary jungle on your own, going wherever the wind and your whims take you. So what better time to traverse genres and worlds and stories than during this upcoming summer? Put on your safari hat and jump in the Jeep; it’s time to explore.
To get inspiration for which books to crack open as I lay at the beach, I asked Blackbird & Company teachers for recommendations. Take a look at these books and see if any strike a spark within your soul—personally, I can’t wait to bushwack through these new worlds!
Ms. Cathi: The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter
When I was young, I used to spend the night with my great-grandma in her tiny apartment. She had a wonderful collection of Reader’s Digest hardcover anthologies that was an early delight because I could devour an entire story in just one night, quietly snuggled in the bed next to her while she slept. She also had a collection of Gene Stratton-Porter books that eventually attracted my attention and kept me engaged for much longer than just one night of reading.
My favorite in the collection is The Keeper Of The Bees. Full of beautiful descriptions of nature, both human and botanical, I was drawn into the story of human tragedy, passion, heroic self-sacrifice, pure virtue, and devoted love on display amongst vibrant colors of flowers, trees, stormy clouds, and of course, bees.
I pull this favorite from my shelf once per year for a reminder of my Memaw’s legacy of rich reading she placed into my hands. I always read with tears and finish with a full heart as I am reminded of how wonderful life can be when not just lived, but shared lovingly with others around us.
~ Ms. Cathi
Ms. Lori: Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
One of my all-time favorite romantic comedies is You’ve Got Mail. A great truth is revealed in this movie by the main character, Kathleen Kelly when she says, “When you read a book as a child it becomes a part of your identity in a way no other reading in your whole life does.” I was an avid reader as a child and each one of those books is not only seared in my memory, but they also molded my future literary tastes. I enjoy all genres—historical fiction, adventure, mystery—but fantasy/science fiction is my absolute favorite. I escaped into the world of Narnia through a wardrobe with C.S. Lewis, walked Middle Earth with J.R.R. Tolkien, and flew into outer space do battle against an alien race with Orson Scott Card.
But what started it all was a book my librarian aunt read to me as a 4-year-old, Five Children and It, by E. Nesbit. This delightful, magical fantasy revolves around five siblings who come upon a sand-fairy buried in a gravel-pit. Now, don’t be thinking Tinkerbell, this sand-fairy is ugly and grumpy, and grants wishes grudgingly, and all wishes turn to stone at sunset. As you can imagine the children become involved in a series of adventures with unintended consequences. It is all great fun, so much so that the future author Edgar Eager was inspired to write a book for children based on it called Half Magic. His book is wonderful, but I highly recommend that you read the book that started it all, Five Children and It.
~ Ms. Lori
Ms. Clare: Wonder by R. J. Palacio
My favorite summer reads are the books you can read over and over again and still uncover something new in, be moved to tears by, remember something lost, and be reminded of the kind of person you want to be in the world. That is what the story of Wonder does for me. Mr. Tushman, the principal in the story, reminds us in his end of the year speech, to be “kinder than is necessary”—that we can make the world a little better and maybe, just maybe someone may recognize in us the face of God glimmering in human form.
Download your Summer Bingo for free on Printshop HERE and submit a picture of your completed bingo sheet below to enter the raffles. Bingo will run June 1st through August 31st—so print out your bingo sheet and get to crossing off squares!
Let the summer inspiration begin!
~ Claire S.