Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator: Ted Rand
Published in 2000
In this memorable children's book Bunting realistically captures the emotions and thoughts of a young girl, Sarah, and her struggle to welcome a stepmother into her life. Instead of accepting Jane as a new member of her family Sarah reminisces about the past, telling the significance of each button on a "memory string". This story beautifully captures the internal conflict a child may have adjusting to change while still grieving over the loss of a loved one. It also demonstrates how a patient and caring adult understands that gaining a child's love and respect takes precious time.
This children's book touches on a fragile subject in an accurate portrayal of mixed emotions from the main character. This story could be really helpful in explaining to a young child how to cope with a tender situation. Having a difficult time accepting my new stepmother when I was 10, this book could have given me some insight into why I felt the way I did and how to deal with those feelings.
I believe that this book would be a great book to use for a writing prompt. I would use this book to prompt the students to write about an item they cherish as a memory. For example: I have my grandmother necklace. She wore this necklace almost everyday. When she passed in 2008 I felt like this necklace was a piece of her I would always have. At the end of writing I would allow time for students to share what they wrote.
ReplyDeleteI think that every child has a difficult time at some point in their life with a family member or close friend and it is important to give them the opportunity to write about that experience. I think that memories, may they be good or bad, are great writing prompts and allow students to make a personal connection within their writing. I would challenge students to make their own "memory string", not necessarily with buttons, but much like the Shoebox project, bring in or write about items that are symbolic and memorable to them.
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