"Gandhi: A March to the Sea" and Time with My Daughter

 I just had a wonderful experience with my eldest daughter last night who will be going into third grade this fall. I hope for her sake that the schools will be open again at that point because two months of online learning made her hate school with a passion, where before she loved almost everything about it. I gave her a break from any type of schoolwork last week since school was officially over, but now it's time to start summer learning so she's not behind in the fall. I confess, I have not always done so well on this, but I figure I can't do any worse than I have in years previous, so I'm optimistic.

The one thing that frustrated her the most about suddenly being without school was that she could no longer attend her specialized reading class to help get her back onto grade level. At the first of the year she hated reading because she was so far below her classmates and had a hard time reading fluently. By January she was loving reading, skipping easy readers and going straight into Junie B. Jones and Magic Treehouse books. She still may be reading them slowly and not finishing many, but the drive and enthusiasm is finally there! Aside from the couple series I have mentioned, she doesn't much care to read fiction herself; she is more interested in the world around her and in real people and places. Over the last month I've tried to find books that will whet her appetite and keep her reading about the things she loves.

I started this quest reading to her some of my favorite true stories from childhood: Teammates by Peter Golenbock, Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Margaret K. Wetterer, and Amazing Rescues by George Shea. She loved those, but wanted more. This afternoon while I was looking through the Monthly Kindle Deals to find good books to post, I decided since I had Kindle Unlimited Again to read a few of the books they had to offer this month. I found a fun really fun ones and purchased them instantly for the girls (most of which we read tonight), but I was especially excited to  see a kid's book about Gandhi. Ever since I  was a teenager and saw the Richard Attenborough film Gandhi (starring Ben Kingsley)  I have loved to find information about his life and the amazing things that he accomplished in his life. After reading the book I knew I had to share it with my daughter.

After we sent her sisters to bed, we settled down on the couch together with my laptop (to see the gorgeous illustrations) and I read the book to her. We had to stop several times so she could ask questions about Gandhi and India and relate his life to her own. At one point she even said that this story would make a wonderful movie. When I told her about the movie she expressed great interest in watching it with me. I'll probably have to break it into small chunks because it is so long, but I look forward to watching more than Aurora Teagarden Hallmark movies with her--they're not my favorite.

This book is beautiful! It starts out with a concise introduction about Gandhi, the basic oppression placed upon India by British rule, and Gandhi's work to end the unfair laws and free India without violence: everything a child needs to know to grasp the basics of the book they're going to read. What follows is a lyrical recounting of highlights from the journey and the goals he and his followers hoped to achieve. Repeated often is the growing refrain:

Each law broken, every stride, Every garment spun, Every Indian who joins the fight: One more step toward freedom. 

 The book is beautifully written and thoroughly enjoyable, though some pages are more lyrical than others.  It probably won't tell the reader everything they need to know about Gandhi and his march, but it will certainly introduce Gandhi and whet their appetite to know more about India, freedom, and a great leader and man. As lovely as the words are, the pictures are beautifully artistic renderings of people and moments. There are beautiful sunsets with Gandhi barely a silhouette in the frame; hordes of photographers reflected in the eyeglasses of Gandhi, similar to the reflection of his writing in the lefthand picture; there are crowds of people pressing in upon him, wanting to support and to celebrate with him; and a portrait of Indians who could be from any decade, past or present. I just love when a book is a complete package of visual and literary storytelling! (That's probably why I spent most of my childhood re-reading the fairy tales of Ruth Sanderson.)

I'm grateful for the power of this book and the chance it gave me to share another historical figure that I love with my daughter. It's worth the $2 Kindle price this month and I'll probably pick up a hard copy as well so the girls can see the pictures in full splendor.