Are we ready?

For school...

Yes and no. I'm excited to see all my student's faces even if behind a mask, I will be happy to hear their voices, and read with them. I am anxious though about teachers and staff getting sick, and the busy crazy schedule for classes. So many regulations and I plan to follow but during our week day on Friday I walked out of the library twice without a mask bc I was busy and thinking about next steps not Covid-19. I've been careful this summer.  I've worn a mask, limited my friend circle, had fun outdoor adventures, and I don't want all that careful time to change. I need to come to grips with staying safe inside school with lots of little bodies. It's going to be a year; unique and filled with joy. Plus my Groovy Girl will be gone having her own school adventure, also trying to stay safe and finding joy on her college campus. 

I recently finished two fantastic fiction books and as usually I still have stacks and stacks to read still. I never get all the books read that I bring home.  My stack this year took a hit because after George Floyd's murder I swerved off my regular reading and picked up lots of current books that had BLM as a theme which means I've read a lot of powerful books this summer and these two are no exception.

From the Desk of Zoe Washington (2020) by Janae Marks: Zoe finds a letter from her birth father on her 12th birthday and she opens it.  She's never met him and she has a stepdad and her mom who love her very much yet something is missing-so she opens the letter, reads it, and hides it. Inside the letter her dad sounds so nice and she didn't think a criminal, a murderer in fact, would sound so good. Zoe decides to investigate with her next door neighbor - friend  Trevor and the two set off on a quest to help her dad prove his case. This book brings up the idea that not everyone in prison is guilty and that sometimes people are convicted because it's easy. I hope Janae Marks writes a continuation because I would love to read more about Zoe and her adventures.

Prairie Lotus (2020) by Linda Sue Park: Wow! This historical fiction book blew my mind a little and I appreciate Park's writing and research. Park's was enamored with Laura Ingalls Wilder series Little House on the Prairie, reading them over and over.  It wasn't until later that she realized the racism that existed in the stories. Inspired to write her own version she sets her story in the Dakota Territories in 1800.  Hanna and her father are running away from her mother's memory in San Fransisco and end up in small town LaForge City. Hanna is half Chinese and knows how people feel about her. Everything from her father's attempt to open up a small dress shop to her ability to go to school with other children from the prairie are hindered by how people feel about her. The racist aggression she feels from townspeople is softened by the simple fact that some people do accept her and she makes a few friends and changes a few minds. 

My mantra this year will be Focus on the positive.  Keep reading, keep smiling.