Hello Book Bums families!
This week in the newsletter we're thinking about change. Dr. Christy shares some throwback photos and reflects on what has changed and what hasn't. We also wonder about how modern life is changing our attention spans. You'll also find the book recommendations, word nerdiness, and literacy ideas you love.
Read on and enjoy!
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Word of the Week
metamorphosis (met-a-morf-oh-sis) noun/person, place, or thing- the change from one form to another
Inside a chrysalis, caterpillars undergo a metamorphosis to become a butterfly.
Wordology Workshop
- Today's Word of the Week is made up of two Greek roots.
- Morph means change, and supplies the main meaning of the word.
- Meta is a preposition that means among or beyond. It adds nuance to the definition, signaling the change takes us beyond the former state.
- You can find meta is other words such as metaphysics and metaphor.
Literacy Calendar
- On June 29, 1613, The Globe Theater burned down.
- The Globe was where Shakespeare's plays were performed, and the name inspired puns and wordplay about globes being someone's head, the stage, a world, and more .
- The fire was started by special effects gone wrong. A cannon misfired during a production and the theater burned in about an hour.
- You can learn more about The Globe here.
"All the world's a stage.
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and entrances;
and one man in his time plays many parts."
-As You Like It by Shakespeare
From our Bookshelves
I adored the book The Mountains We Call Home (2026) by Kim Michele Richardson. I’d read the first book, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (2019) some years ago.
hadn’t realized until this week that, in 2019, a second book had been published called The Book Woman’s Daughter. That’s now on my TBR list.
All these books are stories about some of the Blue People of Kentucky. There was, in the 1800s, an isolated Appalachian clan by the name of Fugate. Many of them had indigo-blue colored skin. They had an inherited blood disorder called methemoglobinemia which prevented their blood from carrying enough oxygen. Well, you can imagine how folks might have responded to seeing people with blue skin.
Since the 1960s, there have been no more folks presenting with blue skin, but Kim Michele Richardson crafted some fascinating tales about how life might have been for these people (who just happen to be avid book lovers and teachers of reading).
I thoroughly enjoyed them.
Here's a YouTube video about the Fugate family if you want to dive deeper.
Tips for Families
Years ago, we used to host summer workshops. I loved hosting them.
Those cuties, above, enjoyed books about quilts all week long, and then we sewed 4” squares of fabric together to create three strips of three squares. We then sewed those three strips together to make a square of nine 4” blocks. After that, we put the pretty sides together and sewed the outside edges (leaving a small hole) to make a piecework pillowcase. Finally, we stuffed the pillowcases and stitched up the openings. These proud girls had made their own pillows.
In a day when people are quick to simply replace torn stuffed animals or favorite dresses, what if we took a rainy day or two to teach our kids to sew? Trust me when I say that kids LOVE this activity.
I made these pillows with my students in school as well. Here are a couple of photos of my first-grade pillow makers.
I was told, not so long ago, that one of my students took her pillow with her to college!
Anyway, I was thinking, maybe you could grab some fabric at Walmart—along with some needles and thread, and you could teach your child to sew one day when it’s rainy or too hot to enjoy playing outdoors. I taught my boys to sew. They made these pillows too. My oldest granddaughter did as well. They all loved it.
If you want to grow your kids’ attention spans, this might be the perfect activity, AND they’ll feel oh so proud of themselves when they see that finished product.
Sew cool.
Tips for Raising Readers and Writers
According to a CBS News Poll, one third of Americans say they’re reading fewer books for personal enjoyment than they did ten years ago. That goes for all ages and all education levels. Twenty-three percent are reading more books, about 40% say they’re reading about the same amount they had been reading in the past, and 36% report reading fewer books.
Most folks report that they don’t have much free time, while others cite having too many distractions.
Here’s the part that I can’t shake: More than a third of those polled shared that their attention spans have gotten worse over the past ten years. If the adults’ attention spans are worsening, how are the children faring?
It’s likely that we know this, but a reminder may be in order.
- To improve focus, you might find it helpful to practice focused meditation. Simply spend about five minutes concentrating on the sensation of your own breathing. If your mind begins to wander, just bring your attention back to the breath with no negative self-talk.
- It’s also clear that aerobic exercise improves brain function.
- Spend some time deliberately learning to do something new. (I’m learning to speak Spanish using DuoLingo.)
- Strive for 15 minutes of uninterrupted focus when working on a task. Take a break with a walk or even by gazing out a window for a few minutes. Then do another 15 minutes of uninterrupted, focused work. Gradually build from 15 minutes to 20 and then to 25 and so on. Focus is like a muscle. The more you work it, the stronger it gets.
- Working in an organized environment really helps me to maintain focus. Sometimes I work at home. Sometimes I work at one of our Book Bums locations. And sometimes, when I’m really distracted, only a Starbucks will do. There, I don’t have other more rewarding and easy-to-do tasks to distract me, and I’m too proud to be on social media where others can see me. I’m weird that way, but it’s an advantage of working at a coffee shop when I need to get some things done. It’s five bucks well spent.
News from Book Bums
We just hosted our first book club for the Faith Alliance Summer Lunch Program at Woodland Elementary School, and we all had so much fun!
First, I got four dozen glazed donuts from Stan the Donut Man. (By the way, Seth is the new Stan, and all of us at Book Bums adore him—and his delicious donuts!)
I read The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller about how the donut was invented. It’s a well-told story that the kids enjoyed (though I did skip a few pages).
Then we shared that a dozen means twelve and stuck a dozen small donut stickers onto a brown letter d that we’d cut out using an Ellison Die Cut machine.
We noted the “donut” in the front of the letter as we looked at the letter and then we practiced making d’s saying, “A-b-c, turn it into a d.” You see, a d is made—starting with a c.
Then we practiced forming lots of d’s using pencils and handwriting paper.
Next, we contrasted the formation of a d with the formation of a b—which starts like an h (not a c). We said, “Hubba Bubba” (and enjoyed some bubble gum, of course) to remember that a b begins with a straight stick down and then we bounce to make and h and close it up at the bottom.
Noting the differences in formations helps kids to more readily identify which is a d and which is a b.
Next, we made some teeny tiny donut boxes (which are adorable and are only $9.99 on Amazon). Forming the boxes through folding was a manageable but challenging task that most kids thoroughly enjoy.
After that, we used some Air-Dry Clay to make tiny donuts complete with icing and sprinkles to fill up our boxes. We even used clear nail polish to add some glaze!
Next, we made donut sticker faces.
Finally, the kids practiced making proper d’s (that start like c’s) to write the word donut in their donut-shaped note pads.
Wouldn’t these be great activities to do before or after a day enjoying The Butler County Donut Trail?
Practical Grammar
This is true! Goodbye is a contraction (with no apostrophe) for “God be with ye.” It originated in the 1500s and sounded more like /godbwye/.
Tips for Teachers
This is a photo from the first class I ever taught. It was 1988 at Liberty Elementary School. These were my third graders. Now these smiling children are almost 40 years old. I was 24 when I was their teacher. They’re now nearly twice the age I was when we spent 180 days of the year together.
When I look very closely, I see encyclopedias in the background. The cursive alphabet is on the walls. Kids sat in desks. The Star-Spangled Banner and the Pledge of Allegiance are posted on the chalkboard near a flag. I’d written, in cursive the day and the date: September 20th. I remember when one of those smiling children pictured was excitedly shared with me that his family had just gotten running water in their home, and his dad was buying a bathtub! In truth, my other students had running water and indoor bathrooms, but there were children in Butler County who did not.
Oh, how times have changed.
Time passes and things do change, don’t they? But we teachers carry so many memories that hardly seem to fade.
Enjoy this season of rest, teachers. You deserve it. Oh, and take photos so you will smile remembering those children you impacted and who so wonderfully impacted you.
Just for Fun
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