Let me tell you a little about Mr. Dart.
He was my 5th grade teacher at Brockbank Elementary (go Broncos!), balding, kinda sarcastic, and was the first teacher I ever heard swear at a class (Scandalous!)
Mr. Dart would lean on this wheeled beige media cart at the front of our class and read to us. I don't remember what he was trying to squish into our young minds at the time but there was far too much chatter going on for his taste.
One day- he lost it.
He screamed "Damn it, pay attention!" as he shoved his little cart into the wall of our classroom.
The cart fell over.
Books and papers few everywhere.
We shut up.
Crazy eyes stared us down.
The dent in the wall is probably still there.
These are the things that come to mind when I think of him as an adult.
Until today.
Today, I realized that I owe my love of reading to this man.
I read before then, but it wasn't until he introduced me to
The Bridge to Terabithia, The Pigman, Summer of the Monkeys, and
Where the Red Fern Grows that I realized how utterly absorbed I could become in the world found on the pages of a book.
That being said- there are only a few books that I would put in the same category as these first novels in my life. (I would later find
Island of the Blue Dolphins and
The Key)
The Wednesday Wars is such a book.
It has won a firm place in my top ten books of all time, and I haven't even finished it yet.
The best way I have to describe it as The Wonder Years meets Tuesday's with Morie.
Read it.
And when you do- come talk to me about it. I love discussing good books! :)
I wish I had realized what an amazing resource he was as a reference for books sooner in life. Thanks Mr. Dart- and I promise that from now on when I think of you throwing your cart into the wall- I will also remember how much you influenced my love of reading.
(P.S.- shout out to my nephew,
Peanut, for suggesting this book in the first place!)
