When I was in grade school, it was popular to order books from
Scholastic. We'd browse the catelog & choose our books. Our parents would write the check, & our teacher would place the order. Weeks later, the books would come in & we'd all pass them around the classroom in excitement. I couldn't wait to get home & start reading.
Two of those books have stayed with me over the years, traveling from house to house, state to state with me. One of them was A Taste of Blackberries, a touching story of a boy's friend who dies of a bee sting & how the boy deals with the loss. I'm not sure why this book resonanted with me when I was 12 years old. I hadn't lost any friends & all of my relatives were still alive. Still, I remember treasuring this book as a tween, & I've kept it ever since. Rereading it now, I still really like the story, & would recommend it to any kid, whether they've experienced a loss or not.
The other Scholastic book that I kept was Bubble & Squeak. I wound up naming my own gerbils after this story. Even though I didn't remember much of the plot, I kept the book on my shelf to remind me of my little gerbil friends. Now, after reading the story again, I realize that it's not such a good influence on a kid. The mother is sneaky, the children manipulative, & the step-father is complacent. I would not recommend this book for a sprouting teenager.
Two of those books have stayed with me over the years, traveling from house to house, state to state with me. One of them was A Taste of Blackberries, a touching story of a boy's friend who dies of a bee sting & how the boy deals with the loss. I'm not sure why this book resonanted with me when I was 12 years old. I hadn't lost any friends & all of my relatives were still alive. Still, I remember treasuring this book as a tween, & I've kept it ever since. Rereading it now, I still really like the story, & would recommend it to any kid, whether they've experienced a loss or not.
The other Scholastic book that I kept was Bubble & Squeak. I wound up naming my own gerbils after this story. Even though I didn't remember much of the plot, I kept the book on my shelf to remind me of my little gerbil friends. Now, after reading the story again, I realize that it's not such a good influence on a kid. The mother is sneaky, the children manipulative, & the step-father is complacent. I would not recommend this book for a sprouting teenager.
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