Writer's Block: Random acts

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This wasn't my act of kindness, but one that I witnessed that really left an impression on me. On Friday we went to get pizza. As I sat there waiting for mine to finish cooking, a tall teenager came into the store. He had corn rows, baggy pants and gold caps on several of his teeth. He held up a wallet, a fat wallet, and said, "Did anyone drop this outside?" He turned around an held it out in offering to any of the waiting customers. No one took it, but it turned out that the cashier knew the person it belonged to. The wallet's owner returned as I was leaving, and was Praising the Lord that it had been turned it.

If I'd passed that kid on a dark street, I'd have probably felt the urge to cross to the other side. It was a humbling experience and once again reminded me the importance of not judging a person by their appearance.

The best homework assignment ever!

Select a children's resource that made a major impression on you during your childhood. It could be a magazine, a record album, a book, a movie, a t.v. show--anything that you remember being strongly influenced by and that you can find again. For example, if I were to do this assignment, I'd choose Margery Williams’The Velveteen Rabbit, which I remember my mother reading to me and remember seeing on television. I can still quote long passages from this story, and I have found ways in which I can relate to the story as an adult. After selecting an item, get your hands on a copy. It might be tough to find the item again, so be sure to start looking for it right at the beginning of the term, even though you won't write your paper the end of the term.

When writing the paper, first re-read/re-view/re-listen to the item. Then, write an essay (roughly four to six pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt font) considering, but not limiting yourself to, the following questions and incorporating ideas that you have learned throughout the term into your writing:
• “Why do you think this item resonated so strongly with you as a child?”
• “What developmental, intellectual, and/or emotional needs did it fill for you?”
• “Did it fill these needs again for you as an adult? How?”
• "How did your interpretation of the item change now that you are an adult?"
• “Would the item make such a strong impression on children today? Why or why not?”
• “Now that you are an expert in children's resource criticism, how does your impression of the item compare with your impression as a child? That is, how do you evaluate it now?”

This is for an upcoming assignment. I'm considering two books: Ramona the Pest (the first chapter book I ever read), The Island of the Blue Dolphins (one of my very favorites as a kid). I need to keep thinking about it.

So, my question to you is, have you had this experience? What book did you love/loathe as a kid? Have you read it as an adult?