The Gift of Story (Final insights from the editors

FINAL INSIGHTS FROM THE EDITORS: SHARING JOHN SCHU’S THE GIFT OF STORY, EXPLORING THE AFFECTIVE SIDE OF THE READING LIFE

As we were preparing to send off the MRA Today for publishing, we were again horrified with the school shooting in Uvalde Texas. We wondered: What can we share with our colleagues to console our broken hearts? What can we share with educators to drive a movement for change? What can we suggest to teachers to read to our students and explain the unexplainable? Then arrives the Gift of Story, which beautifully presents so many important books along with guidance about how children’s and young adult books can heal, inspire, clarify, develop compassion, and connect. John Schu’s book is one that every educator and parent needs - it touches our hearts and inspires minds. In words and images, he presents the lessons we can draw from stories. For example: “Story as Healer: This helps our heart work through difficult experiences as well as internal and external conflicts. Think of the child who deals with the loss of a grandparent by reading Caron Levis’ and Charles Santoso’s (2016) Ida, Always everyday, or the middle schooler who, after reading Jen Petro Roy’s (2019) Good Enough, admits to himself and a family member that he has an eating disorder and “needs help” (p. 8). As you create your summer reading list and the lists for the young readers in your life, Schu’s The Gift of Story must be at the top of your list. You will be inspired as you consider the books that we can use to teach and help those precious young readers in our lives to grieve and heal.