Here’s the illustration from the book that sparked the questions.
My friend Nicole Dotto and I both volunteer for Sit Stay Read (SSR), a literacy organization that encourages Chicago Public School kids to love to read. SSR uses dogs and volunteers in all sorts of clever ways: children read aloud to specially trained therapy dogs, human volunteers visit as “book buddies” to help individual kids, and people like me come as guest readers – the books we read to the kids always have something to do with, guess what? Dogs!
I haven’t been able to visit the schools lately with Whitney like I usually do, but…Nicole to the rescue! She read Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound out loud to fourth-graders at the schools she was at this month, and sent me a fun homemade card listing the questions the kids asked when they got to the page where Hanni prevents me from falling into a hole. “What a perfect treat!” Nicole wrote. I had to agree, and thought I’d share some of those questions with you blog readers as a treat for you, too:
- What if there is a hole and her dog doesn’t see it?
- But what if she just doesn’t?
- What if Hanni falls into the hole first because she’s looking at a bird?
- After she falls, how does she find her toothbrush?
I bet whoever asked that last question has a great smile. Gotta love a kid who, even in the face of danger, keeps her mind focused on dental hygiene.
Children always ask the best questions!
You are so right! Nicole was flattered when I asked if I could “re-purpose” the email message she sent me into this blog post — she confessed that hearing what kids ask me just happens to be one of *her* favorite things about my blog posts. She reminded me of one of the all-time best questions: a student asked, “Did Hanni write the book by herself, or did you help her?”
Priceless.
Oh how I love it when you share these comments/questions from kids Beth. Looking forward to when you are back in the business of visiting schools on your own but thanks for the continued hilarity. I am now off to brush my teeth.
Be careful not to drop your toothbrush, Patricia.
way to excel at being CUTE, kids. I meeeaaan you can’t really blame them, what DOES happen if a bird is around? who can focus under that kind of pressure.
thanks Beth!
You’re right. There’s no pressure like bird pressure.
I hope you and Whitney are keeping track of your tooth brushes. Also hope you are feeling better and better each day.
Confession: I’ve been lax in brushing Whit’s teeth lately. Thanks for the gentle reminder, and for the good wishes, too.
Mark (once a failed guide dog, now a successful therapy dog) has just completed his first semester as a reading guy. He proudly dons his little red cape (bandana) and does whatever the particular situation calls for. One literacy program, catering to readers who are woefully behind and perilously poor, has the kids choose a book to read to Mark. Few of the kids can read without painful stumbling, and as soon as they need help, their tentative confidence shatters. So we decided, Mark and I, that we’d fix it so that Mark is their only real audience. I sit where I can’t really see the words, so when they stumble, the kids have to just tell the story using pictures and imagination and whatever words they recognize and want to use. It has been heartwarming to see these children–so used to failure and criticism–grow bolder with each successful story. And Mark’s own story of finding his place in the world (after first failing miserably) inevitably pleases the kids.
Lauren (and Mark;-)
That’s the greatest. Wish I had something better, but that’s it.
Lauren,
Know what really strikes me about this story? That the kids are, as you so eloquently (and poignantly) put it, so “woefully behind and perilously poor” that their tentative confidence shatters even around *you*. Lauren, you are by far one of the most accepting and kind-hearted people I know. You’re no Mark, though. Thank goodness for dogs like him.
hi bethlove your stories about the children readin to the dogs we live in bethlehem pa we are puppy raisers for the se in nj we are now on puppy 11 which is going back to start traing on may 30th buton dog stories sara our 2nd gr was a breeder we did get her back after retirement we made her a therapy dog we also use her in the reading program at scvhools she goes 3 x a monthg the other day a little girl said to me does sara have her own bedroom and t v dogs are the best in life they do so much for us especially the seeing eye puppies that we raise to become a guide dog we love raising our seeing eye puppies it is very rewarding rewarding if we can give someone a guide dog we jut love it may god bless you for what you do with your guide dogs
I can’t say it enough. Thank YOU and all your fellow puppy raisers for all you do — without you, the thousands of us who need guide dogs wouldn’t be getting around the way we do. Keep up the good, I mean, FANTASTIC, work.
Hi Beth,
How do you feel? I am very pleased to hear that Sit, Stay, Read is still in CPS. When I was Director of Literacy in the late ’90’s for CPS, I organized the program. They also came to Gale when I was Principal there.
Stay well!
Rudy J. Lubov
Wow! What a coincidence! For blog readers who might not recognize Rudy’s name, she is Hanna’s daughter. Hanna is the 90+ writer in my memoir class, the Jewish lady who escaped Germany before the holocaust. Rudy, I should have *known* you had something to do with Sit, Stay Read! It’s a high-quality program, and you are one top-quality human being.
Ha! Great questions. It sounds like a class of budding reporters…won’t give up until they get the answers!
…not to mention her shoehorn. That is a kid I’d love to know!
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