| Heya <<First Name>>,
So, I’m in seventh grade, my parents have recently split up, and I’m living with my mom in a new state.
Because I’ve transferred schools midyear, I don’t have any friends.
Plus, I’m awkward.
It’s quite the combination.
At lunchtime, rather than face the soul-killing horror of sitting alone at an empty table, I sneak into the school library and find a quiet spot near the back.
No one sees me. I do it again the next day. And the next.
I spend a lot of time those first few weeks hunkered down with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the collected stories of O. Henry.
Eventually things get better.
I join the track team, make some friends, and even go to a school dance. And dance.
I stop sneaking into the library at lunch.
But to this day, I’m grateful to O. Henry for being my friend during that bumpy stretch of adolescence. He got me through a rough patch.
Books can do that.
I still have a soft spot for misfits.
If I’m writing all these stories for anybody, it’s for them.
Hey kid, you’re not alone.
Happy reading,
Jeff, Bob, and Zoe …
… who believe that reading with kids can change the world for the better
PS. I recently re-discovered the beautiful, bittersweet poem “Reading With My Kids.” It’s posted on our Read-Aloud Rec Room Facebook group if you’d like to take a look. |
