Wow.
‘Tis the season.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve visited five different schools and spoken with hundreds of kids.
It has been as it always is with these things — hilarious and humbling.
The mind of a seven-year-old is so open and the imagination so vivid that all adult content pales in comparison.
I mean, I try to slide in a thing or two or value but honestly, I wouldn’t mind just giving them the floor.
For example:
During our discussion of how to fit All the World into a little picture book, a boy reassured me that "the world may seem like a big place to us but in the universe we’re really quite small."
And while making up our own pocket ideas, another little one said, "I’m not sure if this is really real or what, but ‘the sky is a pocket for God’?"
And at one point we were talking about original ideas vs. plagiarism when a young girl (who is apparently going to grow up to be a trial attorney) said, "Well, you may not be able to copy somebody else’s story but you can adapt it."
See what I mean????
Why do I even bother when they are this good?
And then, this morning, I receive this very funny and tender video — the son of one of the librarians I visited with, "reading" A Sock is a Pocket for Your Toes. Not a bad grasp on metaphor for a preschooler, huh?
Oh, lucky lucky lucky me…
Wait, wait, wait . . . I don’t want to spoil the surprise for others but did I hear him correctly? Really, oh my, I am in love with this boy. “Your pants are a pocket for your . . .” That one cracked me up and captured my heart all at once. Such a gem.
That video is a peek straight inside a young reader’s brain—-priceless! My favorite bits are where he goes off on riffs: “Grab your cat and pet it, pet it!”
tanita says
Hah. God has large pockets. Or is IN a large pocket…
Ah, I remember “reading” like that. I memorized books by the barrel, and then they were open to, er, interpretation. Love that.
“The sky is a pocket for God.” Wow. And to think that the line came from a 7 year old — that’s amazing.
That’s awesome! 😀
Last week I was at a school visit doing a presentation about journaling and telling your own story. I asked the question “What is the most important story in the world?” the answer, of course is your own. One kid raised their hand and said, “Jesus!” I’m still giggling about that one.
Yes. You are lucky, lucky. But as I learned from a lucky duck of late, you work very hard to deserve such luck. And we who love you, know it.
xo
L2
“but in the universe we’re really quite small” that pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?
Love readings these stories. Always.
Happy Thanksgiving, Liz, to you and yours!
Jules
7-Imp
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