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Health & Fitness

A Child's Unspeakable Crime

A Child’s Unspeakable Crime

It is a rare happening in children’s literature when an author focuses in on an unspeakable crime committed by a child. Lisa Campbell Ernst does this in her book Stella Louella’s Runaway Book. The crime that Stella committed was losing her library book. This is definitely a crime that appears in no other children’s work.

Can you remember when the two-cent late fee fine would kill your mother? How about the stigma of having everyone in the community knowing you turned in your library book late? Stella’s traumatized by her book lose and the possible lose of her library card. Worse still for Stella is the thought of being banned from the library forever for losing her book.

Stella has until five o’clock to find her book. It seems that person after person in town has handled her book, read the book, and shared a part they liked when Stella confronted them…and then told Stella who they passed the book to in the community. Each person that touched the book accompanied Stella in an every increasing crowd of helpers looking for the book.

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The most unique part of the book was hearing the parts townsfolk liked the best and hearing Miss Graham, the librarian, saying, when Stella asked her what she liked best, is reading it to someone.

4. Readibrarian

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Do you want to make a difference in your community, school, or home?
Do you need that next creative project when fall planting season is over?
Would bringing the joy of books to others be in your thinking sphere?
Becoming a Readibrarian will make a difference in the way hundreds of your friends will read and think if you accept this challenge.

A Readibrarian reads to others…the young, the old, a boyfriend, a girl friend, a husband, or a wife. You will be shocked to learn that three major studies showed reading in bed to a ‘significant other’ will improve your relationship and love life? Pick up some of your favorite books and poems and approach the local librarian, school principal, third grade teacher, old folks home director, and explain you are a Readibrarian….and off you go.

Dress is optional. You can have as much fun putting your outfit together as picking your book selections. How about dressing up as the character from the book you are reading. A friend dresses up like a bag lady with a weird wig when she reads to the kids at the local schools. At the end of her presentation she lets the teachers ask if this is the way she really looks. She, of course, tells them….Yes!

If you are a member of a local book group, why not spend a morning at a hospital, school, or community center with the joy of reading you have in your hand and will soon share. Instead of talking about a book when you return to your book club meeting, share instead the experiences that you just had as a Readibrarian. Have your book club design Readibrarian Badges that can be given to other friends for this book lover’s explosion. Make someone’s or a classroom’s day or evening!!!


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