"My heart hurts," said one of my students, crouching near her desk, after we finished the book recently. She then asked if she could go in the hallway because her pain in response to the story was so acute. Some others had tears in their eyes--the girls visibly so while the boys tried to hide or deny theirs. I had a lump in my throat and waited until I had control over my emotions so I could formulate the words to speak. In all, I reveled in this particular moment. There is something thrilling, satisfying, and affirming about seeing someone else fall in love with a book that you, yourself, love. When that someone else is a group of not and non-readers, the experience becomes magical. Such is the case for me every year when I introduce my students to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (1937), a heartbreaking historical novella about the friendship between migrant workers George Milton and Lennie Small. In as few as 103 pages, Of Mice and Men packs a strong emot...
One year, 52 reviews (more or less): My Cannonball Read Blog