The ordinary days of our lives— is it possible to catch all the playfulness, humor, waywardness, and wonder that resides in each and every one of them? Amy Krouse Rosenthal is an author from Chicago who discovered a creative way of assembling a memoir out of short entries organized alphabetically; her Encyclopdia of an Ordinary Lifewas released ten years ago. She writes for both children and adults and is a contributor to public radio and YouTube.
Now in Textbook, Rosenthal has fashioned another nonlinear memoir which contains a mix of memories, charts, graphs, exercises (see the excerpt), and insights into geography, social studies, art, science, romance languages, history, music, math, and language arts. According to Rosenthal, all this material speaks to the awe, bewilderment, and poignancy of being alive.
As we learn in the Language Arts chapter, we are "Free to Be, or Not to Be." (Marlo Thomas & William Shakespeare)
We were delighted to discover in the Geography section that "It takes a snowflake two hours to fall from cloud to earth."
Social Studies has this wise quotation to apply to our actions: "Just look at us, all of us, quietly doing our thing and trying to matter. The earnestness is inspiring and heart-breaking at the same time."
Time travel with Amy Krouse Rosenthal and revisit your old textbooks which are filled with secret wisdom that can now be accessed through her imaginative vision. She will immerse you in a wonder world.
