Kid Stuff

You can get quite a rush when you find yourself talking to an eager group of smiling faces. All their attention is funneled to the words that exit your mouth. You have stories to tell, and they are willing to be distracted. They could be having a great day or a terrible one, but for the next 30 minutes that day is put on pause. They are all yours. I am, of course, talking about reading to 7- and 8-year-olds.

From the late 1990’s to 2017 I was a member of BookPals. This was a program sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. Actors volunteered to read to kids in schools, shelters, even prisons while their mother, father, or grandparent was busy visiting someone incarcerated. The program was replaced with the Storyline Online, an internet offering presenting digital videos that feature professional actors reading children’s books. It was a budgetary decision. The funding wasn’t there to pay the administrators to co-ordinate the volunteers. So, the recorded video was substituted for the experience of having a live adult read a story and interact with the child. The program ended, but I did not.

I’d been reading to two classes of 2nd graders every Tuesday for several years. I informed my teachers that BookPals had been phased out. They were very disappointed. At that moment I made a snap decision. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to continue reading to your kids.” They were delighted. Since 2017 I’ve been reading at Audubon Elementary School in Foster City, my son Roy’s alma mater. It’s a 7-minute walk from my house. I’ve gone through several teachers either moving or retiring. They always refer me to another teacher in hopes I would continue. I always have because I concluded that I needed the kids more than they needed me.

Cara and I wanted more than one child. We tried but none was forthcoming. I joke about it: “God said, “I’m giving you one. Don’t worry it’ll feel like three”. But we’ve always lamented Roy having no siblings. The interactions I have with these kids helps fill that void.

The classes range in size from 18-25. The diversity is wide-ranging: Out of 20 there are usually seven or so Caucasian kids, the rest are Japanese, Chinese, Korean, South Asian, Mexican, South American, the occasional Middle Eastern and African-American and hybrids of all the above. The class takes on the personality of the teacher’s style. One class will be silent and sitting on the floor in anticipation of my arrival. Another is scattered all over the classroom during silent reading, reading alone, or whispering in groups. When I walk in, they enthusiastically gather on the floor in front of class, bubbly asking questions like, “How are you, Mr. Dan?” or “What’s in the grab bag today?”

I confess that I bribe the kids into keeping quiet. I bring along a denim bag that Cara made for me. It has the words “GRAB BAG” stitched in big letters. At the end of the session each kid, if they’ve behaved, gets to reach in and pull out one item. I purchase a bunch of fun stuff from Oriental Trading Company. Stickers, tiny sea creatures, Christmas finger puppets and themed bookmarks for every holiday. The favorites are the scratch and sniff bookmarks. With the help of a penny, you can smell a banana, peach, strawberry, even popcorn, soda, and chocolate. The anticipation of revealing their pick is palpitating. “Look, I got smores!”

From the beginning of the school year to winter break I read picture books. I have two copies of each book so they can see the book projected on the whiteboard. I’ll get a different volunteer to turn the pages every week. They beg me to pick them. The books I’ve settled upon all have a positive message: giving, preserving nature, the nourishing value of friendship, inward goodness vs. earthly belongings. In January, I introduce them to a chapter book. I read “The Bad Beginning” from Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. I am able to buy each child their own copy for half price from an outfit called First Book (firstbook.org).

They can follow along and read ahead in their free time. But, they don’t have to. They can just listen. I tell them that reading is like watching a movie that you make up in your own mind. Your movie doesn’t look like anybody else’s. It’s your choice what the characters and settings look like.

I get to act out the three Baudelaire orphans and the evil Count Olaf. It gives me a chance to ham it up. The kids love it and I have a ball. They often have questions and comments about what I’ve just read: “My uncle lives in Peru!” “How come Mr. Poe is always coughing?” “What’s a typewriter?”

On my way out I walk through the school yard and students yell, “Hey, Mr. Dan.” “ Hi Mr. Dan, see you next week!” One girl stopped me last Tuesday to let me know she had read the whole book already. Occasionally, a 4th or 5th grader I read to two or three years back will stop to say hi. I barely recognize them because they change and grow so quickly from year to year. I stroll back home smiling.

When you feel lousy, I recommend reading to a kid. A niece or nephew. A grandkid. Maybe volunteer at a library. Read to as many as you can find. Here’s a list of my favorite picture books, appropriate for ages 6-8:

Fortunately by Remy Charlip

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli

December by Eve Bunting

The People Who Hugged the Trees by Deborah Lee Rose

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Chester the Worldly Pig by Bill Peet

The Hungry Coat by Demi

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

The Gold Coin by Alma Flor Ada

Plus, you can’t go wrong with anything by Patricia Polacco or Chris Van Allsburg. Try it. You’ll thank me.