Journal of a Lockdown, 13 May 2020
The online book club discussion for kids went well, though the moderator was often flustered. I didn’t prepare a system for controlling the flow of the conversation: I was expecting long pauses as people collected their thoughts. In most Q&As with adults, getting people to speak is like squeezing whisky out of a rock.
The kids who joined the book club on Zoom were between 8 and 10 and way more articulate and sociable than I was at their age. They enjoyed Roald Dahl’s The Witches, and were ready for The Lord of the Flies. They liked horror, mythology with jokes (but professed a hearty disdain for Percy Jackson), history, and science-fiction. Clearly I have to catch up if there is to be another meeting.
My worry that today’s children don’t read was unfounded. They read, and read avidly, but they need to be challenged. “What about A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin?” I suggested. Half of them were already reading it.
Meanwhile, the UP Covid-19 Pandemic Response Team has discovered miracles in the reporting of patient data. On April 24 and 25, 45 patients changed sex spontaneously, 75 aged or de-aged instantly, 516 teleported to other cities, and one was resurrected. Truly these are wondrous times.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
May 15th, 2020 at 13:44
“They read, and read avidly, but they need to be challenged.” Aww, this warms the drum under my sternum–seriously, I’m glad to hear of these fourth-graders reading material other than over-rated Harry Potter (which I assume they’ve either graduated from or deemed at least as a gateway to greater horizons). They sound intimidating in a good way and I hope we get a better future with them as pioneers/collaborators (cue Whitney’s “Greatest Love of All”).
When I was their age I enjoyed Louis Sachar’s Wayside School books (still do!) & Matilda (which also has a list of other books) & Funny Komiks.
Include them in your PodCats!