Where are the books??

When my daughter—an incoming ninth grader—showed me her school’s summer reading list, I was appalled. There were short films, poems, short stories, and essays—but no actual books.

Then we started working through the list.

We watched a TED Talk about social contagion. We saw The Last Repair Shop, a documentary about LAUSD’s musical-instrument repair program and the way music connects the people who restore the instruments with the students who play them.

We read the poems, stories, and essays.

And I changed my mind.

The selections may be short and designed for the way many young people consume information today, but the ideas are not small. They are compassionate, challenging, and deeply relevant. They ask students to think about community, responsibility, injustice, and the power each person has to make a difference.

There's a poem I loved so much I wanted to share it: “Quicksand” by Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre. You can access it here:https://tinyurl.com/yc6tdvr3 or watch the poet himself reading it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R_RmGKg6c0- It's a sharp piece of meta-commentary on how people respond to injustice--and a true call to action.

Meaningful storytelling doesn't have to be long to leave a lasting impression.

What short-form stories have YOU read lately?