Maybe it’s raining. Maybe it’s just too darn hot. Maybe you’re under a big umbrella at the beach or the pool. The one thing you’re sure to need under those conditions is a good book. Several, probably.
The promotional video for the HCLS Summmer Reading Program is out and it’s a moment of pure delight.
I love this video. Yes, it’s a well-crafted production, but it wouldn’t have worked without the delightful people featured in each vignette. I’d watch a television show about these characters and the libraries they love. Yes, I’m gushing, but watch it and see if you catch my enthusiasm.
Do you see what I mean? This could be the beginning of a library-based show like Abbott Elementary, or maybe a detective series where the library crew are sleuths, using all available resources to work out head-scratching mysteries. Yes, it could be an educational kid show (à la Ghost Writer) but it wouldn’t need to be. A musical? Well, that last fellow who’s trying to read might object.
“Tune in next time, for the continuing adventures of the Library Gang!”
I’m tempted to hop in on this because I need some reading inspiration. I’ve spent the last year reading my way through a number of book series and I have reached the end of some, or, I’m on a very long waiting list for the next one. A few haven’t even been published yet. I wish these authors would hurry up, already.
I’ve been languishing in the reading department. This couldn’t have come along at a better time.
Watch the video, then read all about this summer’s program in the Chapter Chats blog:
It starts on June 1st and there are programs from children on up through adults. Prizes, too.
It’s time to find some new books! Who knows, maybe while I’m browsing I’ll spot one of the stars of my new favorite videos. I wonder if they give autographs?
Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents. When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
A college student went missing. His family and friends were distraught. The community was encouraged to be on the lookout and spread the word. Days passed. They must have been agonizing days for those who cared about the missing student. Thoughts that foul play had been involved cannot have been far from their thoughts. Then, at last, the student was found. Alive. The news was shared with the public. So. Much. Relief. A family had been reunited with their child. Even though we know that life is complicated, I think it is okay to accept this as a happy ending and leave it at that. But the world of social media says no. For every expression of joy at the news came questions and even judgement. It became clear to me that some folks felt entitled to an explanation. They wanted the backstory. It’s as though they felt that, by enlisting the help of the public on social media, the authorities now owed them all the details. Television dramas often weave curr...
Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not. It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...
Comments
Post a Comment