Brent and I are reading the Power of One this summer. I've read it a couple of times already, but Brent never has, so I'm reading it to him out loud. Last night we got to that chapter where Mr. Chook, the boys only friend and confident and the "toughest damn chicken in the whole wide world" is killed by the judge and jury on his last day of school. We've been through so much with this chicken, he seems the only glimmer of hope in a story wrought with grief. His massacre sent me into an emotional frenzy where suddenly Mr. Chook represented all good things in my life - Mesa, Max, even Brent, in times of trouble. I had a pretty good cry over the loss of such a great friend.
I find it fascinating that five chapters into the book we still don't know the name of the main character, other than the derogatory names that the other children place on him. It also took Brent and I researching Apartheid to figure out if he was African American or Caucasian. It's a book saturated in reality, and sadness. But there is a wonderful message there and we're having a great time reading chapters together.
3 comments:
So much better than TV.
Except the movie.
that is awesome. are you going to keep up your mom's summer reading tradition with your kids? we need to start a book club...
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