Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Seriously, though. Kevin Henkes’ Still Sal was yet another book that I had a hard time reading because being in Sal’s head was painful. She’s still dealing with the upset of her little sister moving into her room (no more personal space!) when she finds out that she and her best friend are in different classes for first grade. Griffin has Ms. Flowers, who is young and has curly hair and red shoes like Sal; Sal has Ms. McCormick, who is not young and doesn’t do some of the fun things Griffin’s class does. Sal is a big, creative personality, and for a good three quarters of the book, she spins scenarios in her head about Ms. Flowers and herself. True, the book itself only covers a week or two, but I so wanted Sal to move past the Ms. Flowers thing sooner. I suspect, however, that Henkes’ target audience will relate; I also suspect that their empathy for Sal will be more practical than painful. There are more wonderful things about parenthood than I can count, but the sudden ability to hurt for a fictional child on two different levels is not always one of them.

In the meantime, it’s yet another crazy week. Last night was 9th grade course selection; tomorrow night is our PTA’s STEM Night; I think History Fair projects are due next week. I’m so ready for a week of no extra things!