have hope

It's Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day here in the US.  My 6-year-old niece made this beautiful piece of art to pay tribute to our troops and veterans—notice the peace sign in the sun, the red poppy, and soldier in camouflage.  The art some kids make just amazes me—it gives me hope to know that they're processing everything in the world around them.  I saw some fantastic art at a middle school in East Harlem yesterday; Behind the Book, my favorite literacy org, sent a car to pick me up and as we inched our way up Flatbush Avenue, I saw an Asian boy hustling to school—book in hand.  Later that day I was walking along Flatbush and again saw a black boy with his face buried in a book.  During my workshop, three boys in the class started to cry—and despite their distress, all raised their hands and wanted to read their postcard to someone far away.  One child lost his mother; one lost his grandmother when he was just a baby, and wept over that missed opportunity to know and love her.  A third boy showed me the gold link bracelet his stepmother gave him the time he was hospitalized after an accident.  Later, when I discussed the experience with a friend over lunch, she asked if the boys were black and Latino and reminded me that in many families, boys are socialized to take up space no matter their emotional state.  She's right, and the boys in that class definitely raised their hands *a lot*, while most of the girls were silent.  But it's still a touching scene—and a moment that, unfortunately, doesn't seem to last beyond the 6th grade.  At the end of the workshop, one of the girls presented me with this beautiful bouquet of paper flowers—and a boy, Joshua, raised his hand and said, "I made them!"  So proud—as he should be!  How long will that last…

Another ray of hope is Jesse Joshua Watson's new book, Hope for Haiti. You can read a digital copy at the We Give Books website, and each free viewing leads to an actual book being donated to children!  The holidays are coming—this book would be a lovely gift for the children in your life because it IS hopeful and shows how one gesture of generosity can transform lives.