That's funny--tell me another one!
Teacher's looking--behave!!
You smell good!
What's this gadget?
Read, read, read....and eat cookies!
Time to go. Thank you for the goodies!
Have you ever read the book “Because of Winn Dixie”? The Afterschool Book Club at Baseline Elementary have, and then they decided they wanted to do something for the Humane Society of Pulaski County. Isn’t that great? They gave us a big box of food they had collected, including some homemade cookies which were yummy ( I tasted one, okay, it was two). They also had a casual day and charged the students $1 to wear their regular clothes to school and raised $103! What a great bunch of kids. Mom tried to teach them about animal care and safety, but they already knew it all!
Here’s what the book is about. I wish I could read. Maybe Mom will buy it and read it to me:
The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar. Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends, and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship-and forgiveness-can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.
Mom told them a little bit about the shelter and how important it is to adopt or rescue a pet instead of buying one from a pet shop or breeder. Most of the children already had pets of their own and told us stories about them. Lots of people wanted to take me home, but Mom said no ‘cos she loves me too much!!
Next month I’m going to the Arkansas State Hospital to talk to the teenagers there. I’m looking forward to it!
Talk to you later!
Abner
Abner's Blog 
Mar 15, 2011 @ 23:23:58
Hooray for Abner and his mom. And hooray for a school which emphasizes reading, and children who respond.
Mar 16, 2011 @ 01:13:45
They were great kids, and know how to bake a good cookie!
Mar 15, 2011 @ 23:46:12
Good job, Abner! Ask your mom if you can watch the movie about Winn Dixie. I believe I donated it to the HSPC along with lots of other animal movies, to be placed in the Dog Enrichment room!
Mar 16, 2011 @ 01:14:35
Thanks Sharon!! I’ll have mom look for it so we can watch it together!