Recently, we got the nicest email through the blog. It was from author T.A. Barron, thanking us for our work with children and all we do on our blog to get great books into the hands of teachers and kids.
Then, nicer still, he sent each of us a big box of books and posters, ranging from his picture book about the day the giant stone heads on Easter Island walked...
The Day the Stones Walked
...to the first five books in his acclaimed Merlin series...
and 
), plus his newest
Philomel, September 2013
But the thing that most caught my eye in this big box of goodies was the flier for the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes.
This prize, named for Barron's mother, honors twenty-five young people every year for the work they've done to make our world a better place.
The heroism of a character in a book of fantasy might seem like just a story, but T.A. Barron shows us that heroism is alive and well and embodied in young people from every corner of the country and every walk of life. His book The Hero's Trail
also provides true stories of every day heroism.
What if each of us instituted a prize in our school or community to recognize the brave and important things that the young ones we work with make happen? I'm thinking of the fifth grader in my class who has single-handedly started a student council in our building. Or the third graders that raised money for diabetes when their classmate was diagnosed. We need to hold these kids up, publicly recognize them, and thank them for their vision and passion.
Thank you, T.A. Barron for your books, and for reminding us to celebrate our young heroes!
also provides true stories of every day heroism.What if each of us instituted a prize in our school or community to recognize the brave and important things that the young ones we work with make happen? I'm thinking of the fifth grader in my class who has single-handedly started a student council in our building. Or the third graders that raised money for diabetes when their classmate was diagnosed. We need to hold these kids up, publicly recognize them, and thank them for their vision and passion.
Thank you, T.A. Barron for your books, and for reminding us to celebrate our young heroes!
When he first started, he came to visit my class and wrote with us, conferred with the students & gave advice-a gracious man & I guess from your story, still is, Mary Lee. What a good idea you have. Students do so many things well, and often don't receive the honors they should. Thanks for sharing all of this!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting to receive gifts from T.A. Barron! Awesome! I agree that compassionate, selfless, and innovative students need to be recognized. We need more people like that in the world.
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