“Back-Pocket Stories” by Patrick Andrus
A special character will
remain your friend.
A special place will reside
in your memory.
A special story will stay in
your heart.
If you are lucky enough to
get all three; then you have a book that will forever be in your back pocket.
When asked to do my second
RETRO book review (I know can you believe it) I knew just the story I wanted to
share with my fellow Nerdy Book Club members.
I’m definitely not known as
the Book Whisperer, but around my school, community, and friends; I am known as
the “book guy”. There are certain books
that are always in my back pocket to recommend as the “go-to” suggestion. One of these stories is Larger Than Life Lara by Dandi Daley Mackall.
Years ago I was taking a class
from the incredible and educated Patti Green; who is a local guru in the area
of reading and writing. At the end of
her presentation, she shared with us some of her favorite recent reads. Patti threw out this title and expressed how
she couldn’t get over the power of the story.
On my way home, I stopped by
the bookstore and purchased the book.
Thank goodness they had it or I would have been the disappointed child
who didn’t get what they wanted when they wanted it. When I got home, I sat down and opened up to
the first page. A few hours later, as I
wiped away the tears that were streaming down my face; I closed the book and
knew I had found a special story that would stay with me for years to come.
Being that it was summer, I
put the book at the top of my read-aloud pile of books I would be sharing with
my students once school started. Larger
Than Life Lara was the first book I read to my students that fall and I can
still remember the complete silence during certain scenes in the story. It was the ending of the book that brought
back the watery eyes (of the teacher), the gasps from students, and the utter
silence as I finished the final page.
With the success of that
first year, this little gem of a story became a standard read-a-loud of mine for
many years to come. You know you have
found the perfect and special book when you get the same reaction year after
year after year. I couldn’t keep the
book to myself and shared with colleagues who also read it to their students
with the same success as I had found.
A few years ago, for whatever
reason, I made the personal goal of not sharing the same book from year to
year. There are certain titles I miss,
but overall I am satisfied and pleased that each year I share new titles with
my class. Of course this book (and many
others) is “book talked” and becomes a favorite to my readers.
I suppose I should tell a
little bit about the story. That is all
you are going to get because I don’t want to give too much away. Lara is the type of story you have to
experience for yourself without knowing too much.
The main character Lara is
starting a new school (again). Lara is a
LARGE girl who stands out among her classmates.
Not only does she stand out because of her weight, more importantly she
stands out because of her incredibly unique and special personality. It just makes me smile now as I think of
Lara.
Her experiences in school
haven’t been easy and this new start is no exception. The kids in her class have it out for her;
because as we all know students “peg” the new kid and especially the new kid who
doesn’t fit the “mold” of the other students.
The school is putting on a play and all students will have a role or
job. A group of kids decide this is the
perfect opportunity to “WELCOME” Lara to school and let her know what they
think of her.
I’ve said too much. Just know that this is one of those stories that
will become for you what it became for me.
A book that will give you…
*A special character named
Lara.
*The special place of an
elementary building.
*The story of Lara and her
experience that will…
FOREVER remain in your heart and in your back
pocket!
Patrick Andrus is a fourth
grade teacher at Prairie View Elementary School in Eden Prairie,
Minnesota. He has had twenty-three years of wonderfully liberating
experiences teaching young children. The biggest gift he gives his
students is the gift of words, stories, and incredible characters like
Lara. It was about a year and a half ago that he took the risk to enter
the world of Twitter, his own blog, and connecting with the incredible members
of this book club. You can follow him on Twitter @patrickontwit and his
blog http://readwonder.blogspot.com/.
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