1991 Aladdin Paperbacks
32 pgs.
Goodreads rating: 4.43
My rating: 4.5
Illustrations: "The illustrations in this book were first drawn with ebony pencil on Bristol plate paper and then colored over with Derwent color pencils. Because the artist is right-handed, he starts on the left side of the paper and moves to the right so that the picture won't smudge. The paper is very smooth, and only the artist knows where that mysterious texture comes from." Cool.
In-Class Follow-up: I will follow this up with brainstorming little ways that we can make days better for people. Then we'll brainstorm (individually) people that have done kind things for us, or that are just great people in our lives. I'll pull out some cool, cute stationary and we'll write notes to them and MAIL them, too!
When I read this book, I'm going to end with this poem by Bruce Coville:
Ripples
No one acts in isolation
And no act leaves the world the same.
Words and gestures ripple outward,
What shores they reach we cannot name.
All our lives end in a riddle --
A mystery without an answer,
For even gone we ripple on,
Like a dance without the dancer.
Did you extend a friendly hand?
Did you lift a battered spirit?
The one you helped helped someone else
Ah! Now we're getting near it.
That second someone dropped despair
Did not give in, instead revived
To teach, to love, to fight, to dare,
And what you've done lived on, survived.
On and out the circle widens,
Past all hope of comprehending.
The slightest touch can change the world
Healing, helping, lifting, mending,
Actions last for generations
Our fathers' mothers mold our hearts.
We in turn shape all that follows;
Each time we act, a ripple starts.
~Bruce Coville
Goodreads:
"Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch sings as he dusts his living room. "Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch whistles as he does his errands in town. "But who, " Mr. Hatch wonders, "could that somebody be?"
After some time, Mr. Hatch discovers just who his secret admirer is and, in doing so, enjoys the biggest surprise of his life!
"Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch sings as he dusts his living room. "Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch whistles as he does his errands in town. "But who, " Mr. Hatch wonders, "could that somebody be?"
After some time, Mr. Hatch discovers just who his secret admirer is and, in doing so, enjoys the biggest surprise of his life!
