Looking Like Me

Looking Like Me

Picture book
"I'm a writer
Spinning dramas
That dance across the stage,
A poet weaving mysteries
That live upon the page."
Jeremy, the child portrayed in lively verse in Walter Dean
Myers' Looking Like Me is on a voyage of identity discovery. As he
goes through his day the people he interacts with clue him in on
facets of his complex personality: brother, son, writer, city child,
artist...
Child readers are invited to discover all the things they are.
Classes and groups like scouts could give members a chance to share
their own unique Looking Like Me stories. Words and collage would
make a fun combination. Kids could learn how complex and nuanced
their peers are. What a great way to combat stereotypes and help shy
kids express themselves!
The Juvie Three

Juvenile/YA fiction
"Right now he's not thinking about the fact that he's too young
to hold a license--that he's still got two years to go before he even
qualifies for a learner's permit. He's not even thinking about what
his brother, Reuben, meant when he said that he needed to 'pick
something up' at an electronics game store that closed two hours ago.
Mostly, he's not thinking about the bald guy in the rearview
mirror, sprinting up behind him, waving his arms and yelling 'Hey,
that's my car!'"
Reading these paragraphs from the first page of Gordon Korman's
The Juvie Three, I'm sure you'll be able to predict the scenario won't
end well. It doesn't. Gecko is driving the get away car for Reuben
and his chums who are robbing the games store. Fleeing the cops ends
up in a crash. Gecko ends up in juvie.
But Gecko and two other juvenile convicts are about to catch a
major break. Douglas Healy, a former juvenile delinquint who was able
to turn his life around, has scored a grant to run an experimental
half way house. If Gecko, Arjay, and Terence are able to succeed on a
strict schedule of school and volunteering and follow the rules
they'll earn a fresh start.
You know complications are going to arise. The major one is
Healy developing amnesia as the result of a bad fall. If you guess
the boys will take advantage of this opportunity to take off...
...you couldn't be more wrong. Read the book to see what
happens. You'll be glad you did.
One conversation between Healy and a prison counselor,
Kellerman, really caught my eye. Heally says, "If anyone had paid
this much attention to the kid before he got into trouble, he probably
wouldn't have gotten into trouble." Kellerman agrees, "Nobody ever
lifts a finger to help them until they're in so deep that they can't
be helped." Every day I'd guess tens of thousands of kids end up in
the juvenile justice system because of accumulated unmet needs--food,
shelter, safety, someone to care... Preventing this is not only the
humane thing to do, but cost effective. Keeping a kid behind bars can
cost as much as sending him/her/them to a private university. That
isn't counting the cost to family and community.
Think about that. Even one life is a terrible thing to waste.
On a personal note, I'm on the last day of Thanksgiving break.
Here's how it went. Thanksgiving was a little bit of a let down. My
kids had legit reasons why they couldn't make it to their
grandmother's house. I'd gotten up at 4:00 in the morning and let my
husband drop me off at an ungodly hour with the intention of studying
til they arrived. The in-laws differ widely from me on any issue
controversial enough to be interesting and have no interest in what
I'm working my butt off to achieve. Thank goodness my niece arrived
and I finally had someone to safely talk to! And I reminded myself I
have a lot to be thankful for. The silver lining was 11 hours of
homework with no breaks. Combining that with what I achieved other
days and I'm actually a bit ahead. Keep this up and I may get in a
little bit of social life...if I can remember what it is.
Disappointment, I could find nothing I wanted at Goodwill when I went
to reward myself for being an industrious student. Positive note, I
had a coupon to get a bottle of twisted peppermint lotion free from
Bath & Body Works. The best parts are I got in a lot of play and
cuddle time with my best little buddy Joey cat, I was able to afford
the ingredients to bake snowball cookies and peanut butter cookies for
my work family, and today I have a big old turkey cooking in the
oven. It will provide a feast tonight, meals for Eugene nights I'm on
campus late, and yummy sandwiches to carry in.
A great big shout out goes out to those beings, human and feline, who
give me so much to be thankful for every day of the year.
jules hathaway


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