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365 Reasons to Smile – Day 84

I admit it. A decade ago when my son started reading the Captain Underpants series, the books also entertained me.

The books by Dav Pilkey follow the adventures of two fourth grade students who create their own comics and hypnotize their principal, who changes into Captain Underpants. The books poke fun at teachers and school principals and adults in general. The lack of respect for authority and the bathroom humor are problem the primary reasons the series tops this year’s list of most frequently challenged books.

But from my own experience, bathroom humor is exactly what appeals to children. Kids WANT to read it.

And anything that gets kids reading always makes me smile.

Day 84: Captain Underpants Day 83: The Diary of Anne Frank Day 82: In Cold Blood

Day 81: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Day 80: The Outsiders Day 79: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Day 78: The First Amendment

Day 77: People Who Touch Our Lives Day 76: The Rewards of Parenting Day 75: Improvements Day 74: Family Traditions Day 73: Learning From Our Mistakes Day 72: Live Music Day 71: Sleeping In Day 70: Grover Day 69: A Good Hair Day Day 68: A Sense of Community Day 67: Kindness Day 66: Living in a Place You Love Day 65: Gifts from the Heart Day 64: The Arrival of Fall Day 63: To Kill a Mockingbird Day 62: Green Lights Day 61: My Canine Friends Day 60: Differences Day 59: A New Box of Crayons Day 58: Bookworms Day 57: Being Oblivious Day 56: Three-day Weekends Day 55: A Cat Purring Day 54: Being a Unique Individual Da y 53: Children’s Artwork Day 52: Lefties Day 51: The Neighborhood Deer Day 50: C ampfires Day 49: Childhood Crushes Day 48: The Words “Miss You” Day 47: Birthday Stories Day 46: Nature’s Hold on Us Day 45: Play-Doh Day 44: First Day of School Pictures Day 43: Calvin and Hobbes Day 42: Appreciative Readers Day 41: Marilyn Monroe’s Best Quote Day 40: Being Silly Day 39: Being Happy Exactly Where You Are Day 38: Proud Grandparents Day 37: Chocolate Chip Cookies Day 36: Challenging Experiences that Make Great Stories Day 35: You Can’t Always Get What You Want Day 34: Accepting the Fog Day 33: I See the Moon Day 32: The Stonehenge Scene from This is Spinal Tap Day 31: Perspective Day 30: Unlikely Friendships Day 29: Good Samaritans Day 28: Am I a Man or Am I a Muppet? Day 27: Shadows Day 26: Bike Riding on Country Roads Day 25: When Harry Met Sally Day 24: Hibiscus Day 23: The Ice Cream Truck Day 22: The Wonderful World of Disney Day 21: Puppy love Day 20 Personal Theme Songs Day 19: Summer Clouds Day 18: Bartholomew Cubbin’s Victory Day 17: A Royal Birth Day 16: Creative Kids Day 15: The Scent of Honeysuckle Day 14: Clip of Kevin Kline Exploring His Masculinity Day 13: Random Text Messages from My Daughter Day 12: Round Bales of Hay Day 11: Water Fountains for Dogs Day 10: The Rainier Beer Motorcycle Commercial Day 9: Four-Leaf Clovers Day 8: Great Teachers We Still Remember Day 7: Finding the missing sock Day 6: Children’s books that teach life-long lessons Day 5: The Perfect Photo at the Perfect Moment Day 4: Jumping in Puddles Day 3: The Ride Downhill after the Struggle Uphill Day 2: Old Photographs Day 1: The Martians on Sesame Street

Posted in Banned Books Week, My life, perspective

106 Comments

Tags: 365 reasons to smile, banned books week, books, Captain Underpants, challenged books, children's books, Dav Pilkey, perspective, smiles

365 Reasons to Smile – Day 83

Sep 27

Posted by Trina Bartlett

When Anne Frank named her diary Kitty, she never realized that the it would become an international best seller.

She just knew that she needed some place to express her inner-most thoughts and, later, to document life in incredibly challenging circumstances.

In doing so, she made the Holocaust personal for millions.

When I was young, the Holocaust seemed like ancient history. Now, I realize only a few short years separate Anne’s death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp from my birth into a middle-class family in the United States.

But Anne was born at the wrong time in the wrong place.

By the time she was four-years old, the Nazi government was in power and had organized a massive propaganda campaign to win the loyalty and cooperation of Germans. This included taking control of newspapers, magazines, books, music, movies and radio. Any point of view that even appeared to threaten Nazi beliefs was censored.

During the spring of 1933, Nazi student organizations, professors and librarians developed lists of books they thought were threatening. On May 10, 1933, Nazis raided libraries and bookstores and threw books into huge bonfires. More than 25,000 books were burned. Some were works of Jewish writers, including Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. Most of the books were by non-Jewish writers, including Americans Jack London, Helen Keller, Ernest Hemingway and Sinclair Lewis.

Ironically, decades later, there were efforts to ban The Diary of Anne Frank from American schools and libraries.

I’m just glad the words in her diary were louder than the protests.

That always makes me smile.

Day 83: The Diary of Anne Frank

Day 82: In Cold Blood Day 81: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Day 80: The Outsiders Day 79: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Day 78: The First Amendment Day 77: People Who Touch Our Lives Day 76: The Rewards of Parenting Day 75: Improvements Day 74: Family Traditions Day 73: Learning From Our Mistakes Day 72: Live Music Day 71: Sleeping In Day 70: Grover Day 69: A Good Hair Day Day 68: A Sense of Community Day 67: Kindness Day 66: Living in a Place You Love Day 65: Gifts from the Heart Day 64: The Arrival of Fall Day 63: To Kill a Mockingbird Day 62: Green Lights Day 61: My Canine Friends Day 60: Differences Day 59: A New Box of Crayons Day 58: Bookworms Day 57: Being Oblivious Day 56: Three-day Weekends Day 55: A Cat Purring Day 54: Being a Unique Individual Da y 53: Children’s Artwork Day 52: Lefties Day 51: The Neighborhood Deer Day 50: C ampfires Day 49: Childhood Crushes Day 48: The Words “Miss You” Day 47: Birthday Stories Day 46: Nature’s Hold on Us Day 45: Play-Doh Day 44: First Day of School Pictures Day 43: Calvin and Hobbes Day 42: Appreciative Readers Day 41: Marilyn Monroe’s Best Quote Day 40: Being Silly Day 39: Being Happy Exactly Where You Are Day 38: Proud Grandparents Day 37: Chocolate Chip Cookies Day 36: Challenging Experiences that Make Great Stories Day 35: You Can’t Always Get What You Want Day 34: Accepting the Fog Day 33: I See the Moon Day 32: The Stonehenge Scene from This is Spinal Tap Day 31: Perspective Day 30: Unlikely Friendships Day 29: Good Samaritans Day 28: Am I a Man or Am I a Muppet? Day 27: Shadows Day 26: Bike Riding on Country Roads Day 25: When Harry Met Sally Day 24: Hibiscus Day 23: The Ice Cream Truck Day 22: The Wonderful World of Disney Day 21: Puppy love Day 20 Personal Theme Songs Day 19: Summer Clouds Day 18: Bartholomew Cubbin’s Victory Day 17: A Royal Birth Day 16: Creative Kids Day 15: The Scent of Honeysuckle Day 14: Clip of Kevin Kline Exploring His Masculinity Day 13: Random Text Messages from My Daughter Day 12: Round Bales of Hay Day 11: Water Fountains for Dogs Day 10: The Rainier Beer Motorcycle Commercial Day 9: Four-Leaf Clovers Day 8: Great Teachers We Still Remember Day 7: Finding the missing sock Day 6: Children’s books that teach life-long lessons Day 5: The Perfect Photo at the Perfect Moment Day 4: Jumping in Puddles Day 3: The Ride Downhill after the Struggle Uphill Day 2: Old Photographs Day 1: The Martians on Sesame Street

Posted in Banned Books Week, My life, perspective

110 Comments

Tags: 365 reasons to smile, Anne Frank, banned books week, books, challenged books, Diary of Anne Frank, history, Holocaust, Nazi book burning, perspective, smiles, writing

365 Reasons to Smile – Day 82

Sep 26

Posted by Trina Bartlett

I always had a vague idea about who Truman Capote was, but I never paid much attention to him. At least, I didn’t pay much attention until I discovered he was a childhood friend of Harper Lee and the inspiration for the character Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird.

That intrigued me, and I made a point of learning more about the man who made his literary mark with a controversial book about the horrific murder of an entire family in Holcomb Kansas in 1959.

Although Capote and Harper Lee conducted interviews and took volumes of notes, the accuracy of In Cold Blood is still questioned 47 years after it was published.

But after I read it, I understood more about Capote than I did about the crime. He had an undying need for three things: 1) to make his mark by writing; 2) to understand why people behave in a way that makes no sense to most of us and 3) to demonstrate how complex people really are.

He didn’t want to believe in the simplicity of good and bad. He inherently knew that people are often shaped by how they respond to the circumstances. At the same time, he struggled with how anyone can commit evil acts against others.

Maybe the fact the Capote painted the killers as complicated individuals rather than simply as villains is one of the reasons In Cold Blood was banned and challenged. Or maybe the absolute horror of the murders was simply enough.

But I respect Capote’s efforts to paint an otherwise black and white story in shades of gray.

People who can do that always make me smile.

Posted in Banned Books Week, My life, perspective

112 Comments

Tags: 365 reasons to smile, banned books week, books, challenged books, Harper Lee, In Cold Blood, perspective, smiles, Truman Capote, writing

365 Reasons to Smile – Day 81

Sep 25

Posted by Trina Bartlett

My mom was an avid fan of libraries and always encouraged us to borrow books rather than buy them. Because I read so much as a child, I didn’t have the money to purchase all the books I wanted anyway. But as I got older, I used my money to build a small personal library.

Every time I moved, I had to choose the select few books I would keep.

I still have the well-worn copy of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry that I bought and first read in elementary school.

The Newbery Award winning book by Mildred D. Taylor is narrated by fourth grader Cassie Logan, who tells the story of being part of a family of African-American landowners in Mississippi during the Great Depression.

I read the book over and over again never knowing there were adults who thought this children’s book wasn’t appropriate for children because of insensitivity, racism and offensive language. Maybe they just want to forget or ignore that period of our country’s history.

Personally, I am just grateful for a book and an author who taught me what happens when people don’t stand up for what is right. And what happens when they do.

That always makes me smile. Day 81: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Day 80: The Outsiders Day 79: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Day 78: The First Amendment

Posted in Banned Books Week, My life, perspective

110 Comments

Tags: 365 reasons to smile, banned books week, books, challenged books, civil rights, Mildred D. Taylor, perspective, racism, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, smiles, writing

365 Reasons to Smile – Day 80

Sep 24

Posted by Trina Bartlett

I made a lot of poor decisions when I was young.

Take, for example, my choice for dramatic readings for speech competitions.

I chose to read passages from a book I absolutely loved.

That may seem perfectly understandable – but only if you think common sense was involved.

It wasn’t.

The book was The Outsiders, which means all the characters were adolescent males. Since I was an adolescent female, some people were confused.

No matter how hard I worked at capturing the essence of the passages, the judges weren’t impressed with my efforts. The feedback I received was “wrong choice of work.”

Not only that, but I when I chose my competition piece, I didn’t know The Outsiders was being made into a major motion picture. It opened in theaters during speech season.

That didn’t impress the judges either.

In hindsight, I don’t really care if the judges were impressed. I loved the book, and The Outsiders will always hold a place in my heart. Not only was the story inspirational, so was the author.

Susan Eloise Hinton started writing the novel when she was 16. It was published by the time she was 18.

And then it was banned from some schools and libraries because of violence, underage smoking and drinking, strong language and family dysfunction.

Ironically, as a high school student, I witnessed all of those on a regular basis. I just never wrote about them.

Fortunately, what I didn’t witness was the book being removed from my local library.

And the fact that it was available for me to read always makes me smile.

Day 80: The Outsiders Day 79: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Day 78: The First Amendment

Posted in Banned Books Week, My life, perspective

113 Comments

Tags: 365 reasons to smile, banned books week, books, challenged books, perspective, S.E. Hinton, smiles, Susan Eloise Hinton, The Outsiders, writers, writing

365 Reasons to Smile – Day 79

Sep 23

Posted by Trina Bartlett

Last September, I had the privilege of hearing Maya Angelou speak at an event in Charleston, West Virginia.

The woman isn’t simply an amazing woman; she is simply a genuine person.

Unlike other superstars, she doesn’t make me feel as though I’ll never be pretty enough or skinny enough or connected enough to make my mark. Instead, she reminds me that words have the potential to make a greater impact than anything else and that the most meaningful words don’t come from leading a perfect life.

They come from the struggles and mistakes and the missteps all of us make but only some of us are brave enough to write about.

In her autobiography I know Why the Caged Bird Sing, Ms. Angelou draws her readers into her imperfect world. She is so talented that the reader actually feels what she feels, particular in her most difficult moments.

That’s why her descriptions of rape and teen pregnancy are particularly difficult to read. That’s also why her autobiography is on the list of the 100 most frequently challenged books.

The fact that it’s not censored and I’ve had the privilege to read it, always makes me smile.