Let us notlose our ideals
Joy Basdeo
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Joy Basdeo, also knownas "Mrs B" is an educator, former English teacher, anavid reader and storyteller, mother of four grown children andgrandmother of Zoë. Her weekly column is intended to assistparents and children select books which entertain and build character.Children are never too young to hear stories, and reading aloudcreates a bond between the reader and the listener. Parents areencouraged to talk with their children about the story. Let themsay what they liked or didn't like about it, and how they wouldhave told it differently. Let them draw their favourite character,or create a sequel of their own, engaging their imagination, andstrengthening their comprehension and vocabulary.
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"It's difficult in times like these:ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to becrushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned allmy ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling tothem, because I still believe, in spite of everything that peopleare truly good at heart."
From Anne Frank's Diary,July 15, 1944
As I write today I have the television on listening to the newsof AA flight # 587 which crashed a few minutes after take-off,in Queens New York. By the time you read this we should have furthernews as to whether the crash was caused by mechanical failureor by a terrorist attack.. In a world still reeling from the horror,heartbreak and disbelief of September 11, parents are strugglingto explain to their children how something like that could happen.Just over 50 years ago another story of man's inhumanity to manwas unfolding in the city of Amsterdam, through the pen of a German-Jewishteenager, Anne Frank. This diary is the subject of this week'sbook, "The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition,"published by Doubleday in 1995.
Anne Frank, a thirteen-year-oldteenager was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust. Sheand her family, together with four other people spent 25 monthsduring World War II hiding in secret rooms in Amsterdam, the Nederlands.After being betrayed, Anne and her family and the others werearrested and deported to Nazi concentration camps. Nine monthsafter her arrest, Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen, she wasjust fifteen years old.
Her diary, which was savedduring the war by one of the family's helpers, was first publishedin 1947. Today it has been translated into 67 languages and isone of the most widely read books in the world.
This might be a good timefor parents and older children (12 +) to read Anne's story together.Middle School children and older will be able to compare the injusticeswhich took place during the Holocaust with those occurring aroundthe world. Those with computers might like to visit the Anne FrankCentre USA Website at http:www.annefrank.com
Suitable for older readers,"The Diary of A Young Girl: the Definitive Edition"is available through your favourite bookstore, and check the PublicLibrary in your district or in Cayman Brac. Don't forget to visitthe Book Loft, run by the Cayman Humane Society on North SoundWay for this and other books.
If you would like to sponsorthis book and donate it to a government school as part of ourCharacter Education Project, please email me at joy.basdeo@ gov.ky, ask your bookseller to send it to me at the Ministry of Education,4th Floor Government Administration Building, or drop it off atthe Ministry.
All gift books will havean acknowledgement on the inside front cover, and you might liketo give it on behalf of yourself, your company, your childrenor grandchildren, or just someone special.
Until next week, HappyReading!
Mrs B
Next week: "GrandmaChickenlegs" by Geraldine McCaughrean, a story above friendssticking together for younger readers.
(Disclaimer: Theopinions expressed in this column are those of the writers, andare not binding on any individual or organization. They are intendedsolely as guidance, parents should always use their own discretionin selecting reading material for their children).