The Stack

The Stack

Picture book
After our literary stops in Nazi Germany and 1921 Tulsa,
Oklahoma, I was ready for something more light hearted. Luckily I had
a copy of Vanessa Roeder's The Stack. It's a purrrfect read aloud for
families with young children.
Luna, Roeder's protagonist, like many of our kids is no fan of
the dark. Instead of asking her parents for a night light or
permission to crash with them, she comes up with a truly audicious
plan. She's going to snag one of the stars way up in the sky.
She starts with the usual: a chair, a stepping stool, books.
Then falling short, she adds more and more fanciful elements: an
elephant, a whale, a dragon, a pirate ship. Eventually she is able to
scale her stack and return with star safely in jar...
...and experiences an unexpected regret.
Our little kids come up with quite unusual plans and great
enthusiasm for carrying them out. Not all are possible or desirable.
I mean attaching a jet engine to a go cart. But with the ones that
could be brought to fruition without endangering humans and companion
animals, this book could be a springboard for breaking plans into
doable steps.
On a purrrsonal note: in the fourth year of my part time masters
program in higher education I'm with Luna on this. I can't tell you
how many times I've felt like I'm looking for the next element to add
to my stack to help bridge the gap between my present reality and my
goal. (Jules)
Hmmm, a toy that could produce cat treats whenever I wanted them.
(Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all stack builders, child and adult.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway



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