The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

By: Barbara Robinson

Libby audiobook 2 hours

Read by: C.J. Critt

Published: 1972 (this version 2018)

Genre: children's humor

I have read this book at least twice before, but have no blog or Excel entry for it! I checked it out for when my six-year-old grandson would be in the car with me. He really seemed to enjoy it. We had some good conversations about how naughty the Herdmans were, what it is like to know Bible stories, and other topics. 

It's a delightful story with a punch behind it! When the narrator describes seeing the Herdmans dressed up as the Holy family and them looking like lost, scared refugees, I started tearing up. The Herdmans playing the wise men bringing a ham to baby Jesus is both funny and hits home a little. (What newborn baby needs myrrh and frankincense?)

All in all, Robinson has created a gem of a story and Critt's vocal work is superb.

Creative Schools

by Ken Robinson
Hennepin County Library hardcover 257 pages
genre: non-fiction

I didn't get this done before I needed to get it back to the library. A bunch of people in Litwits told me to just watch his TED Talk - it's better and takes less time. Okay, then. Here's the link to his talk "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

I don't have time to watch it now, but I need to. This is too important to ignore. My school is already focusing on things that are more important than compliance. How do we foster creativity in our students? 

Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative

by Sir Ken Robinson
PRMS hardcover 305 pages (with endnotes)
genre: non-fiction

I couldn't finish this. I tried, but was only at the half-way point (page 148, to be exact) after seven months. Clearly, this just isn't the right time for me to be reading this. It was on our Summer 2013 Litwits list and I heard fabulous things about Robinson and his work on creativity. There were parts early on that captivated me, but I am trying to teach myself to put a book down if I'm not enjoying it. And the last two dozen times I've read a few pages, I've been forcing myself to read it. Perhaps I'll try it again next year . . .

From the jacket blurb: "There is a paradox. As children, most of us think we are highly creative; as adults many of us think we are not. What changes as children grow up? Organizations across the globe are competing in a world that is changing faster than ever. They say they need people who can think creatively, who are flexible and quick to adapt. Too often they say they can't find them. Why not?"

This is especially interesting to me as an educator. Are we stressing conformity and obedience over more important qualities?