I've been thinking about books lately, which really, is nothing new, but more specifically, I've been thinking about books from my childhood that influenced me. It started as a result from a question by a friend, one that stemmed from a course on children's literature at the college, and it's been on my mind ever since. Today in class a student asked me what the word "paradox" meant and I immediately went to the go-to reference in my mind- one from The Weighty Word Book: "So, whenever something seems impossible at first, but turns out to be true, like a parrot-ox, we call that thing a paradox." Tonight I picked up the book again, thinking about all the words, like ostracize, ubiquitous, and juxtapose, that I learned in third grade, when my teacher read a story, or a word, a day for 26 days, beginning again when we begged for more. It's amazing how things stay with us, how I will always remember the word winsome, not only for it's definition, but because I wanted to be just like Mary Marigold, and all her charming, charismatic, cheerful, brightness, and I loved that there was one word to describe all those things I desired.
I think I'll take a little break from commenting on student papers for a little while and sit with a few of my favorite books, and remember how much a simple description, like the unpacking of a lunch, can stick with us forever.
The next day when the bell rang for lunch, Albert said, "What do you have today?"
"Well," said Frances, laying a paper doily on her desk and setting a tiny vase of violets in the middle of it, "let me see." She arranged her lunch on the doily.
"I have a thermos bottle with cream of tomato soup," she said.
"And a lobster-salad sandwich on thin slices of white bread.
I have celery, carrot sticks, and black olives, and a little cardboard shaker of salt for the celery.
And two plums and a tiny basket of cherries.
And vanilla pudding with chocolate sprinkles and a spoon to eat it with."
"That's a good lunch," said Albert. "I think it's nice that there are all different kinds of lunches and breakfasts and dinners and snacks. I think eating is nice." "So do I," said Frances,
"Well," said Frances, laying a paper doily on her desk and setting a tiny vase of violets in the middle of it, "let me see." She arranged her lunch on the doily.
"I have a thermos bottle with cream of tomato soup," she said.
"And a lobster-salad sandwich on thin slices of white bread.
I have celery, carrot sticks, and black olives, and a little cardboard shaker of salt for the celery.
And two plums and a tiny basket of cherries.
And vanilla pudding with chocolate sprinkles and a spoon to eat it with."
"That's a good lunch," said Albert. "I think it's nice that there are all different kinds of lunches and breakfasts and dinners and snacks. I think eating is nice." "So do I," said Frances,
and she made the lobster-salad sandwich, the celery,
the carrot sticks, and the olives come out even.
-R. Hoban, from Bread and Jam for Frances
2 comments:
I feel so cool reading and commenting on your Blog from my phone. Love today's post so much
I still remember what a palindrome is thanks to a story I read in 2nd grade called "Hannah is a palindrome." She gets totally ripped on by this kid named Otto, who keeps calling her a palindrome. Then she looks the word up, and calls him one too. It blew my mind.
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