With Heartfelt Thanks to The Children's Book...

 Honestly?

It's been One Unimaginably Unimaginable Year for a Non-Stop Finder

of Life's Silver Linings.

But fortunately, as Elaine Stritch sang in her signature Sondheim song,

"I'm still here."

I keep keepin' on, no matter the state of my World(s).

So, "How?" you might ask.

Well, I did turn to my Sure-fire Cures when I first felt my Positive

Mental Attitude whimper:

lakeside walks,

Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond visits,

afternoons at Wrigley,

a Philly Cheesesteak (with fried onions).

Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto played in my head day and night.

I resided in Stars Hollow once each day, thanks to a Gilmore Girls 

episode.

Add: daily reflection time, daily inspirational readings, journal writing

and heart-to-hearts with loved ones here and (believe it or not) 

Elsewhere.

My towering grandson's gentle shoulder hug kept me upright and

moving forward, literally and figuratively.

The Good News?  All of the above did indeed help.

The Less-than-Good News? Not quite enough, and for not so long.

Despite my profound gratitude for those who engaged both my head

and heart, the rumblings of my Forever-Always-There-for-Me-and-

Others PMA let me know on a regular basis it was considering

becoming a No-show.

Thankfully, enter The Children's Book.

Rather, the right Children's Book and at just the Right Moment.

It gifted me with what I was so close to losing: i.e. Hope.

In case you forgot: every Children's Book must always offer its

Reader Hope.

Not the proverbial "Happily ever after" ending, which is my 

favorite.

Simply the possibility of such an ending.

Consider what follows a curated month-by-month list of the

children's books that did their job November, 2024 through

today, November 21, 2025, courtesy of my Chicago Public

Library: they informed, amused, encouraged, inspired and

best of all, kept me keepin' on.

Hopefully, they'll do the same for you.

NOVEMBER

..."a fresh and moving look at 

memories, filtered through 

the mind of a child."

DECEMBER

..."a tale of intergenerational friendship

forged through a shared understanding 

of loss."

JANUARY

..."a courageous and resourceful boy

struggles to hold his family together

after his mother doesn't come home."

FEBRUARY

..."a Holocaust memoir of hope when

facing the unimaginable and 

survival, thanks to the kindness of

strangers.

MARCH

..."a historical coming-of-age novel

in which a girl battles her own short-

comings and the random nature of

life."

APRIL

..."the healing power of community 

fixes a neighbor's broken heart."

MAY

..."a mountain-climbing boy finds his

path to healing - and forgiveness..."

JUNE

..."an inside look as well as tribute to

the late great (and my favorite)

children's book creator James

Marshall."

JULY

..."a tender portrait of resilience

and empathy as disaster strikes a 

family."

AUGUST

..."a middle grade girl wrestles with

what it means to 'shine' for a black

girl in a predominantly white

community."

SEPTEMBER

..."a universal parable with a message

about unity, hope and social action."

OCTOBER

..."a love letter to making friends

from unexpected places."

NOVEMBER

..."the true and powerful story of

Portuguese diplomat Aristides de

Sousa Mendes who believed every

life is worth saving."

CURRENTLY ON HOLD:

..."each story splinters into the next 

in this brilliant spin on classic 

tropes that celebrates the power of

imagination and creativity during

uncertain times."

As always, I hung with William Steig's Brave Irene

when necessary. Irene Bobbin's determined effort to 

deliver the dress her suddenly-sick Mother made for

the Duchess - NO MATTER WHAT BEFALLS HER! -

never fails to steel my spine and return me to the

challenging task at hand.

Here at TeachingAuthors we've often celebrated

November, the month of giving Thanks, with

original Thankus.  Since sharing this short poetic

expression of gratitude in 2011 in my National

Day of Writing post, in a string of Novembers

I've personally thanked my treasured writers,

my eager students, my Mentors, my fellow

TeachingAuthors, my Children's Book World,

my grandson, Walter Annenberg, the Chicago

Cubs - and last February, I thanked my Sonny

Boy.

With heartfelt thanks I now add to this list:

             The Children's Book

             The perfect Rx

             for Silver Lining Seekers

             lost and losing Hope.

    [Note, unpoetically expressed:

     Cures weighty hearts, wobbly footing

     and wilting Spirits; administer

     when needed; unlimited dosage]

May you find the Right Book at just the Right

Time to keep you keepin' on!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, and thank you, Janice Scully, at Salt

City Verse for hosting today's Poetry Friday.

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S.

In the spirit of Giving, please feel free to

share in the Comments a children's book

or two that made a difference in your Life

this past year.

Summer in the Amazon Rainforest

I am wrapping up this series detailing what each teaching author did over the past summer, each experience beautiful and meaningful in its own way. 

Because I was awarded a very special fellowship in honor of the memory of a young environmental scientist, activist and educator, Courtney R. Wilson, I attended a transformative, education professional development in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest this past summer.

For 10 days, I was immersed and engaged with other educators from across the U.S., deep in the primary Amazon Rainforest through the Morpho Institute’s Educator Academy, to understand how teachers can play a role in the conservation of the Amazon Rainforest.

 

I was especially drawn to this profound experience because of my work with young students around climate change.  Although I had been to the Amazon in 1999, I had traveled by myself and experienced the biodiversity as a tourist.  I found it to be the most magical place on Earth. During the few days of my tour in 1999, I saw tropical birds, caiman, sloths, monkeys, and all the other rainforest animals and insects one would expect to encounter.  I was enchanted and I knew I would return.

The Amazon Rainforest is known as “the lungs of the Earth.”  As a kindergarten teacher, kidlit author, and mother, I was pressed to return given the escalation of climate change.  I recognize that am a gatekeeper and that I stand on the precipice to lead young people into understanding and action around the conservation of this critical ecosystem.  I cannot save the world.  I am long past the arrogance of this belief, but I can work in my own little corner to add to the efforts. Sometimes it is daunting at best, and I am overcome by the futility of it all.  But then I am reminded of the necessity by the wide-eyed 4- and 5-year-olds that I teach and write for.

I was compelled to participate in the Morpho Institute’s Educator Academy to deepen my knowledge of the land, the river, and the animals/insects/birds/fish, the biodiversity.  What I did not expect to connect with was the humanity.  Because of the relationships that the Morpho Institute has developed with the local indigenous communities, I was able to meet and witness the conservation efforts of these indigenous communities who live in the Amazon Rainforest.  

We spent time with the Sucusari Maijuna indigenous community, who live on the Sucusari River a tributary off the Amazon.  This is my understanding of their incredible struggle for conservation of the area based on my observations, a clarifying interview with Christa Dillabaugh, executive director of the Morpho Institute Educator Academy, and the article cited at the end of this post.

The Sucusari indigenous Maijuna community is relatively accessible because of its proximity to the river so they were most affected by loggers and poachers.  Their river and land were devastated by bad practices of the loggers and poachers, which poisoned the fish and decimated the animal populations, drastically reducing the ability of the Maijuna to feed their own families. 

Through organizing efforts that spanned over time, they were able to consolidate their power with the other three Maijuna Communities located in other areas of the Peruvian Amazon to petition the government to designate their land as a regional conservation area making them the guardians of this area.  I believe it was not fully realized until they partnered with NGOs (Non-governmental Agencies) and the Kichwa indigenous communities.  Ultimately, the Mijuana/Kichwas Regional Conservation area was formed, 391,039 hectors (275,000 hectors of primary rainforest.)  This designation legally protects their homeland.

One of the most moving aspects of this story for me is the dedication to conservation efforts of the land undertaken by the Sucusari community, revising their own practices.  In the past they had cut down trees to harvest honey and through their recognition of the damage this causes, they have adopted new ways.  Instead of cutting down the trees for honey they now cultivate native stingless bees in bee boxes on their land.  Instead of cutting down Palm trees to harvest the fronds and fruit, they have developed ways to leave the trees standing while harvesting the fronds to create palm rope.  We witnessed their eco-friendly fishing and have heard and seen on a Trap Camera the recovery of big game in the area that were previously thought to be gone. The practices of this community have led to the recovery of the rainforest in their area.  

Tragically, they are now in the midst of a fight to prevent the government from putting a 130-kilometer road in with a 10-kilometer-wide development corridor.  This possible project, that will bisect the conservation area, threatens to destroy the biodiversity, fracturing the habitats, and destroying cultural and ancestral lands important to the Maijuna. 

This possible road opens up the interior of the primary rainforest to logging and poaching. (the recent film We Are Guardians details similar destruction in Brazil and the indigenous communities who are fighting back) This struggle is also not much different than the recent news that our North American entire coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska is being opened up with the same struggle occurring, especially against the possibility of a road going through much like the struggle of the Maijuna. I am heartened to see the struggle.  I am awakened to the organizing efforts of the indigenous communities most directly connected to the eco-system which they are positioned to protect.

When I returned folks asked me what the most interesting thing I had experienced in the Rainforest was…to my own surprise, I answered, “the people.”  I experienced the indigenous communities of the Amazon and their hard work to help the Amazon recover and I was filled with awe. I returned hopeful.

By Zeena M. Pliska

Author of Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story

                 Egyptian Lullaby

                 Chicken Soup for the Soul for Babies Say Thank You? (But Why?)

                 Chicken Soup for the Soul for Babies A Gift For Me? (I Want It!)

For More Information About the Morpho Institute

Morpho Institute, Amazon Conservation - Morpho Institute

For More Information About the Educator Academy and Scholarships (due Nov. 15th)

Professional Development - Morpho Institute

For More Information About the Maijuna Indigenous Community

The Maijuna: Fighting for Survival in the Peruvian Amazon


Trautmann, Nancy, and Michael Gilmore. “The Maijuna: Fighting for Survival in the Peruvian Amazon.” Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia (Autumn 2019), no. 46. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/8956 . This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . 2019 Nancy Trautmann and Michael Gilmore This refers only to the text and does not include any image rights. Please click on an image to view its individual rights status. ISSN 2199-3408 Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia Source URL: http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/895