Tag: teacher

  • January 23, 2024

    January 23, 2024

    On a recent trip to New York City, I was running through the airport to meet a friend, and in my haste, I almost went down the up-escalator. I caught myself in the nick of time. When I was on the down-escalator, I heard a voice say, “That was close. I could see it all…

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  • May 3, 2023

    May 3, 2023

    I keep thinking about a teacher I met in the signing line in Los Angeles a few weeks ago. She was telling me about her experience of reading aloud to her class of third graders, and I said, “It matters so much. You are giving those kids a true gift.” This teacher looked at me…

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  • January 10, 2023

    January 10, 2023

    I signed for a package last week. The delivery guy said, “DiCamillo?” I said, “Yes.” “Wait,” he said. “Did you write Because of Winn-Dixie?” “I did.” “Oh, wow,” he said. “My third grade teacher read that book to us. I’ll never forget it.” And then he smiled at me—this radiant, beautiful smile—and I suddenly saw…

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  • October 12, 2022

    October 12, 2022

    A few weekends ago, I was sitting around with a group of friends and we got to talking about books we had loved when were kids. Lots of different titles were discussed: Harriet the Spy, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, Winnie-the-Pooh, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Henry Huggins, Fantastic Mr. Fox, James and…

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  • April 19, 2022

    April 19, 2022

    From a fourth-grade teacher who has been reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane aloud to her classes for the last ten years: “My students have always enjoyed this story, but this year something miraculous happened. The whole class cried at the end. All of us. Together. It was transformative. I wanted you to know.”…

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  • March 8, 2022

    March 8, 2022

    In the cereal aisle at the grocery store, a woman came up to me and said, “Can I tell you something?” I said, “Yes.” “I’m a fourth grade teacher and when I was in fourth grade my teacher read Because of Winn-Dixie to the class. My mother left the family when I was five, and…

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