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Another
year has gone by …and it’s time to welcome 2015 as the year of reckoning! The threshold of a new year always fills one with hope and
expectations! Another year full of events and non-events,
another year full of personal and professional highs and lows, and
another year full of cherished memories to come! For most kids though, a
new calendar year may not be as exciting as a new academic year…which probably
best signifies their transition into higher classes, with greater freedom and
not-to-forget greater responsibilities!:-) The younger ones couldn’t care less
except to remember to mention the correct year in their date column of their
work books and to parrot out New Year wishes to one and all. Well, the older kids may seem a little
cautious about welcoming the New year as it means that they are even more
closer to the most dreaded period of their school lives….exams!!! However, there is no dearth of expectations
with us adults!!! Anyway, whether you expect 2015 to be a life-changing year or
or a just another year
to add to your profile, as parents ……you cannot deny that each passing year is
only a reminder of how time flies and how fast your little ones become
not-so-little ones anymore! Here’s wishing everyone a great and fulfilling year
ahead!
For
the start of a new year, we picked up “The Year of Billy Miller” by Kevin Henkes, the author of famous
picture books like “Kitten First full
moon” or “Good day” or the “Lilly” series, etc. “The Year of Billy
Miller”, for which he received the Newberry medal is a chapter book meant for
young readers between the ages seven and twelve. Frankly, what does a seven year’s old’s world revolve
around? – parents whose mood swings
he cannot figure out or a sibling
who’s wailing he cannot take anymore, or school where he hates having to deal
with his “show-off” classmate or his teacher
in whose bad books he suddenly lands in……sounds like a familiar story? Well,
seven year old Billy Miller is starting his second grade year and that’s exactly
what he is going through or rather worried about!
"The year of Billy Miller " is thus divided into
five parts spanning over one whole academic year that typically begins at fall
and ends the following summer. Each part comprises of over five small chapters,
starting with his new class teacher Ms. Silver whom he worries about having
accidentally offended when poking fun at a fellow classmate, followed by his dad whom he fondly calls as
‘papa’ but is later given to wonder (read worry) as being babyish, then his
three year old sister Sal, whom he
claims to hate and cannot live with, only to realize that he cannot live
without her either, and finally his mother whom he compares to a volcano when
asked to write a poem on, as a part of his year end class project!:-)
Each
of these parts is beautifully written with crisp and tongue-in-cheek humour
that is both funny and thought-provoking. The language is simple enough for
emergent chapter book readers and yet provides plenty of scope for vocabulary
improvement, though certain references to the American lifestyle may be a
little confusing for someone who is not exposed to living abroad. But on second
thoughts…having been fed with a continuous stream of American sitcoms or the
popular children fiction series like Geronimo Stilton and alike, the kids these days
have a better world view than we had while growing up. Though the illustrations
are bare minimum, “The Year of Billy Miller” can certainly double up as a read
aloud series for children too young to read independently, but patient enough
for complex themes. Believe me, even I
couldn’t put the book down myself and particularly discovered that chapters
“Father” and “Mother” made interesting parenting reads as well….loved “papa’s”
easy-going parenting style and almost felt envious about the shared
parenting/domestic responsibilities between
Billy’s parents! So the “Year of Billy Miller” has a little something
for everyone! J So here’s hoping your little one or
not-so-little one’s coming year as fascinating as Billy’s Miller’s!
