Around the Neighborhood Readaloud
As libraries and schools are still closed over so much of the country, kids and parents don’t have access to the new books they would otherwise be sharing. I’m so pleased and proud to have partnered with Raising Readers to share a virtual readaloud of Around the Neighborhood. In these tough times, let’s keep sharing stories and songs and noticing the small joys of our own neighborhoods–a flower opening, a bird in a window, a puppy sniffing the grass, families loving each other.
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Waiting for Words
At least it’s not too hard to social distance in Maine.
Sometimes it’s not easy to find your creative voice in the midst of dread. Like so many, I’m worried about high-risk relatives, anxious about whether I’m doing the right things to help, missing my beloved Maine community and all the small things we did to stay connected in our taciturn Maine ways.
It can be good to push through the panic and write, create, draw, sing, love. But sometimes it can also be right to take a step back, snuggle on the couch, and be gentle with yourself while the world swirls around you. In those times I lean on the creativity of others who’ve written us message from their own hard times and the fear in the center of their own hearts.
Books and stories will sustain us, whatever happens.
Read MoreA Story of Plague
Since nobody is thinking of anything but pandemic, I thought I’d post about one much worse than what we’re experiencing–the Black Death and the village of Eyam.
It was 1665, and the plague had struck Eyam. (Fleas in a bundle of cloth imported from London are supposed to have been the culprits.) Forty-two people died in four months, and the rest were ready to flee. The village rector knew that if they did so, they’d take the plague with them. He made the former rector, his rival, into an ally, and together they convinced the people of Eyam to stay where they were.
Amazingly, they did it. Almost no one broke quarantine for fourteen months, even though two hundred and sixty people died in a community whose total population did not reach one thousand. People from neighboring villages brought food and left it at the village boundary for the survivors.
If the people of Eyam hadn’t stayed and faced death together, the plague would have killed thousands more. It’s an amazing story of heroism. Maybe I’ll turn it into a book on day.
In the meantime, wash your hands…stay home if you can…be careful and safe!
Read MoreGo Set a Watchman
I wrote this a while ago, after reading Go Set a Watchman. It just seemed like something it might be worthwhile to share.
So Harper Lee, who wrote a book about white people and racism, wrote another book about white people and racism. I don’t know why we’re all so surprised.
Okay, yes, I do know. It’s a gut punch to know that Atticus, the kind, protective, wise, gentle father figure to white America, will smile and nod while listening to a speech so full of racist vile it makes his daughter vomit. It’s horrible to hear Atticus, our Atticus, declare the Warren Supreme Court and the NAACP his mortal enemies, to talk with gentle and genteel horror about black children sitting in his school and black voters taking over his government.
But it shouldn’t shock us, if we look back honestly at To Kill a Mockingbird.
We were all lulled into thinking that this is the definitive book about racism in America. And what does it tell us? That one man, armed with kindness, good manners, and legal training, can overcome racism in his small Southern town.
Except he can’t.
What does Atticus actually do in To Kill a Mockingbird? Remember? He doesn’t get Tom Robinson acquitted. He makes the jury take a little longer to decide. He makes them think about it. And he counts that as a victory.
Read MoreSarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Thomson focuses on newfound connection, magic, and suspense to conjure a fast-paced, heartwarming mystery. Thomson’s world is populated by resourceful protagonists, fanciful creatures, and quirky supporting characters.”
—Publishers Weekly