November 4th - A Day After Hibernating, Pretending I Live in an Alternative World, and It Was The Last Last-Day-of-Summer

I spent yesterday revisiting Lamar Giles' The Last Last-Day-of Summer thinking about the conversations I'd have with kids and the curriculum I might build with educators (also thinking of summer, period). This is the 2nd time I've read the book, but this time I read for teaching style and educating funk, making connections between Phantom Toll Booth, Umbrella Academy, The Point, and numerous Saturday morning cartoons that used to catch my attention (both modern and my parents' generation). To have fantasy and possibility (even in the impossible) illuminated is the joy of Lamar Giles writing. 

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer is adventurous, fun, lively, quirky, brilliant, humorous, thought-provoking, and clever. More than anything else, it is a tremendous promotion for creativity and imagination, especially during a time where such things seem to be squashed from American classrooms. As Jason Reynolds wrote about the text, all "children need to live in magical spaces," and I couldn't help remember my collection of Roald Dahl books, the build-your-own-adventure texts, and C.S. Lewis novels that helped build my own. There were others, too, but I've lost their names and titles, but know they were supernatural stories about Griffins, Hippogriffs, Harpies, Unicorns, and Jackalopes. 

I recall a childhood watching The Never Ending Story, Labyrinth, The Last Unicorn, Watership Down, The Wiz, The Wizard of Oz, etc. loving the fantasy, metaphor, and morality such stories delivered. That's why I became a reader; that's why I loved going to the library and stocking up on more and more each week - before schools ruined this with their assigned texts that didn't tantalize the brain as much. Oh, Scholastic book fairs!

I loved meeting Otto and Sheed, believed in their Batman and Robin-like cousinhood, and appreciated the love tension with the Epic Ellisons (so much story still to be build here). The humor of time interacting with the human world (Bed Time, Game Time, Mr. Flux and his Time Suck) also brought me a smile and scratch-my-chin thinking. It had me somewhat jealous of Giles' mind, because as challenging as it might have been to come up with such characters - what joy and pleasure to play with them on the page. I appreciated the story arcs of cousins, future selves vs. present selves, and the coming of terms to singular moments in everyone's personal history. What I loved most, is the fate of Fry City's was in the hands of young people, untouched by adult responsibilities, worries, workloads, and routines (they were there, but minor) In a summer that belongs to young people, the last, last-day of summer is extra provocative. How do you fit as much clever freedom into the last 24 hours? You let TimeStar enter through a space portal! 

I can only imagine being 11 or 12 and finding myself jumping into this universe.  I'm handing this to my neighbors who have 1st and 2nd graders, because I think this would be so much fun to be a night time read, too (imagine the dreams). Giant, furry platypuses who slobber you when not being ridden by vengeful villains (who are not necessary evil - - - just trapped in a moment of time). Kids will love this. 

I can't wait for more Legendary Alston Boys (and Epic Ellisons). Brilliant kids doing what brilliant kids do when freed up to be young, exploratory, and totally alive in their heads. Let creativity and story-play triumph over boredom and adult doldrums.