Hello Reading Force families! Im Emma, I’m a Pad Brat and school librarian and I write a regular blog about reading and Forces life.
With a New Year comes thoughts of new starts and military children experience more new beginnings than most adults do in their entire lives. I have lived in over 17 houses and been to five different schools and I was one of the lucky ones! It’s a complex lifestyle having to start over again every few months or years – from making new friends, to exploring a new area, learning a new school layout and having to find new afterschool activities (one place you’re halfway through grade 5 tap, next you’re taking up a new musical instrument because there’s no nearby dance school but a great school orchestra). It’s tough, but helps to make us more well-rounded people and adaptable to change and there are some great books out there to help with the transition:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
There is possibly no bigger transformation than turning your whole body into goo and emerging as a butterfly! But that’s precisely what caterpillars do all the time and this is a classic picture book about the lead up to that fabulous new beginning.
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
No matter how hard our new schools have been, I don’t think anything can compare to the terror of living with Count Olaf!
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
One for the over 13s here – Telgemeier’s memoir about getting braces is very much about a new experience in life and the difficulties it brings. What I took from this book though, is that it doesn’t matter what you go through – it matters who you choose to surround yourself with and knowing your worth.
I hope 2018 brings you all some fabulous new beginnings, and along with that some new books – from the library, from friends and family, and from Reading Force! Happy New Year everyone.