I truly enjoyed being a participant in today’s eighth annual “I Love Reading” event at Balboa Elementary School. Upon my arrival, one of the many student “ambassadors” poised and prepared for this event escorted me to the auditorium for a breakfast buffet and social.
I serendipitously met Balboa parent George McClements, a published children’s book author. George was featured on the Rachel Ray show last summer, and I now plan to feature his books in an upcoming post (for readers who haven’t checked out this blog’s sidebar yet, the Bookshelf section is reserved exclusively for book reviews of Glendale, California authors and publishers!).
Among the other volunteer readers were city council members (Bob Yousefian and Dave Weaver), school board members, school district administrators, fire department and police department professionals, and local PTA members. Principal Linda Russo-Milano and PTA President Scott Sackett welcomed us all.
I had the privilege of reading to Patricia Spencer’s first/second grade classroom, and I brought two books I felt fairly sure would be hits. My adorable audience listened attentively and passed the first beautifully illustrated book around slowly after I finished it.
The Rajah’s Rice is an Indian folktale about a poor village girl who tricks the Rajah into paying her his entire store of rice and more when she merely asks for a grain of rice, doubled, 64 times. At the end of the book, a chessboard illustration shows that one grain of rice doubled 64 times would fill 256 islands the size of Manhattan, or one Mount Kilimanjaro. This is a pretty impressive mathematical fact, even for adults!
Unfortunately, The Rajah’s Rice is out of print. Used copies are available on Amazon.com.
The second book was One Grain of Rice (which is still in print and available on Amazon.com), a variation on the same folktale, and again beautifully illustrated.
Although neither of these books were written or published in Glendale, I highly recommend them for elementary-age children. The brilliant heroine living in a poverty-striken environment, the injustice of a feudal system with underfed peasants and indolent ruler, and the clever way a girl tricks him into feeding her people while teaching an important math lesson are all well-framed and appealing.
I found The Rajah’s Rice because it was featured in Once Upon a Heroine: 450 Books for Girls to Love, another resource I recommend. A comprehensive review of books with inspiring female heroines for children of all ages, it also features interviews with many famous high-achieving women discussing books with heroines which most inspired them in their own childhood. Interesting fact: many said they were influenced by the adventures of Nancy Drew, intrepid amateur sleuth!
I received a sweet Valentines poster created by all the students, along with a beautiful tulip plant, as a remembrance and thank-you from Ms. Spencer’s classroom. A framed photo and Valentines’ chocolates were additional rewards from the committee. It was a great morning to be a book lover!