Tag Archives: humanity

The Monday Book – The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Julie Morstad

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Guest review by Janelle Bailey, avid reader and always learning; sometimes substitute teaching, sometimes grandbabysitting, sometimes selling books

The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Julie Morstad

The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Julie Morstad

Recently, I came across this Philip Pullman quote: “There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book.”

I think that this is sometimes true. I also think that sometimes children’s books take on far more mature messages or make deeper or more complex points than their young audience can grasp, let alone easily do; sometimes there’s a deeper layer of mature message for adults with a simpler layer easily understood by the kids.

And my concern is really a little different, that if the books that make the best points are children’s books, how do we get adults to read them? Some of the best authors of early reader books–Kevin Henkes, Kate DiCamillo, Beverly Cleary, and so many more–are mainstays in early elementary classrooms and teacher recommendations, and/or authors whose books teachers read aloud to their students as well.

Maybe you haven’t heard of or read Kate DiCamillo since reading to your kids or reading her AS a kid (Because of Winn Dixie, The Tale of Desperaux, Flora & Ulysses, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, or any of the many, many others). Or maybe you haven’t ever heard of her at all!

But you’re hearing about her now, and you simply must know that you need to find her newest book, The Puppets of Spelhorst, either for yourself or as a gift for another adult–or child–and once you’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, you may as well read a bunch more of DiCamillo’s others as well.

Yes, they are children’s books. I suppose. Meaning that a child could certainly read them once they are getting the hang of the reading thing, to the point of looking up anything they don’t know or asking about anything they don’t understand.

But the real beauty of the messages of DiCamillo books is for adults to read/hear/learn. They are the ones who can be most “changed” by the sweet charm of Kate DiCamillo’s characters–often non-humans of some kind brought to life–who seem to all have a better grasp of some aspect or aspects of life than all of us living life.

And all we need to do is generously read and see and listen to the message of the book(s), and then go out and do a better job from then on, of being human, of having a heart, and of seeing into people’s eyes well enough to learn what is also in their hearts, and what we’re all capable of: improving.

These puppets–a king, a wolf, an owl, a boy, and a girl–well, they’ve got important things to teach you. Come along for this quick ride and see!

Come back next Monday for another book review!

Calling Someone Out Is Not The Same As Calling Someone A Name

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In a recent political speech, the presumed Republican presidential candidate referred to some people as “vermin.” When mainstream media compared this to speeches given in the Weimar Republic by another infamous candidate seeking to lead his country, the presidential candidate’s team called the comparison disgusting and a deliberate attack intended to obfuscate issues.

I’ve struggled with how to write this, because my calling out our local theatre director over the summer for racism and misogyny resulted in me being called an attacker, and I don’t want to write an “it happened to me” blog. I want to write a “words matter and we’re in trouble so move through your life with prayerful integrity” blog.

Over the summer I was a volunteer on an arts committee for our town’s local theatre. When it became evident that there were issues with equity in pay and in choices of acts—and also that voices of artists from diverse communities were missing from the planning group—I asked questions. This culminated in a phone call with the theatre’s director, where I called out certain decisions and several preceding actions since his arrival as white supremacy.

All hell broke lose. The director asked me to a meeting with a board member, told me I was disgusting. It is a common strategy to say someone else attacked you when you feel defensive.

The board member told me I had no right to attack the director. Both said I should be ashamed. When you cannot justify your actions, when you do not want to engage on why what you’re doing is good (or even good enough), you attack.

In talking afterward with the regional newspaper about the events at the theatre, a heavy sigh preceded the reporter putting into words what we both knew: the same thing is happening everywhere. What used to hide behind coded language and secret handshakes is now a campaign platform. The only unusual aspect of the local theatre story was that the director actually got fired, a unique twist to a standard plot.

Dear reader, let me challenge you with another twist on a now-standard saying, “if you see something, say something.” What’s happening right now in the “God is on OUR side” culture wars requires knowing the difference between calling someone names, and calling someone out.

When I ended the meeting with the board member, he was still defending the director, who was still insulting me. Something strange happened: the director’s last words as I left were, “Good luck to you.”

From nowhere, my mouth opened and out came, “I won’t need luck; I have integrity.”

I’m not going to wish you luck as you parse through the attitudes and actions of this coming year’s political climate. We’re not jerks, elites, woke-ists, or any of the other names we get called for refusing to let dehumanizing words and actions go by. We do very much need to avoid being self-righteous assholes, and I’m praying for wisdom, discernment, and integrity on how God plans for me to walk these days. Moral high ground is both heady and slippery.

Walk softly, never mind the big stick. If you see something, say something.