“And yet again, Mrs. Butkus changed that. The Giver changed my life. Her handing me that book is such a large part of why I became a teacher. I’ve read that book DOZENS of times. I’ve given it as a gift to every adolescent child in my life. I’ve given it as a gift to adults that need to be book lovers, too.
Each time I read it, I think of Mrs. Butkus. How she knew, just knew, I needed it.”
I made this during a workshop I went to on Saturday. We were asked to illustrate & write about a recent moment that impacted us. |
Some of fictional Ivan’s favorites and a few of the real Ivan’s favorites. We ate them while we watched a documentary on apes. |
The One and Only Ivan, The One and Only Me. |
- Ivan was declared to be “inspirational” because, as one little girl put it, “he made you really think about your attitude and outlook on life, and by the end of the book… well, you change. Not just him… you too.”
- A character’s death (I won’t spoil it for you) was declared to be a favorite part, and when I challenged the student on why death would ever be someone’s favorite, she said — “because it made me feel. No book has ever done that.”
- And when another student lamented that their drawing was terrible, a classmate — unprompted leaned over and said, “just believe in yourself and what you’re doing will turn out just fine. Believe, like Ivan.”