“The streets of Heaven are crowded with angels tonight.”
That was a line from President Bartlett (of ‘The West Wing’) in an episode about a bomb attack in a school, in which many terrified students tried to escape and more than a few clambered back to rescue fellow students (and ultimately died).
Remembering heroes and victims has been a shared theme around the world this past week.
Children, especially, need heroes. They may not entirely understand the evils and tragedies of the world, but they certainly know enough to appreciate the importance of heroic figures who’ve kept them safe.
Back in childhood (not too long ago, I assure you ...), stories were where I'd gotten my dose of heroic pride and comfort. Real and fictitious heroes have protected and comforted me since young. Today, I’d like to share my heroes who’ve given me courage in trying times, and goaded me into becoming a little braver and more determined:
Picture Books, Middle Grade Novels, Non-fiction, Young Adult Books, Comics &
Animations:
· The Lupine Lady from MISS RUMPHIUS Barbara Cooney
· Ted from MY PARENTS ARE DIVORCED, MY ELBOWS HAVE NICKNAMES, AND OTHER FACTS ABOUT ME Bill Cochran & Steve Björkman
· Matilda from MATILDA Roald Dahl
· Laura from LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE Laura Ingalls Wilder
· Jo March from LITTLE WOMEN Louisa May Alcott
· Jesse & Leslie from BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA Katherine Paterson
· Coraline from CORALINE Neil Gaiman
· Nobody Owens from The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman
· Gandhi from GHANDI - YOUNG NATION BUILDER Kathleen Kudlinski
· Johnny Appleseed from THE SUN, THE RAIN, AND THE APPLE SEED: A NOVEL OF JOHNNY APPLESEED’S LIFE Lynda Durrant
· Michael (or Mikha’el) from THE SONG OF THE WHALES Uri Orlev
· Alex from THE ISLAND ON BIRD STREET Uri Orlev
· Christopher from THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME Mark Haddon
· Will Halloway & Jim Nightshade from SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES Ray Bradbury
· Holden Caulfield from THE CATCHER IN THE RYE J.D. Salinger
· Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY Hayao Miyazaki
· Hanamichi Sakuragi from SLAM DUNK (a Japanese comic series that my sisters and I can read over and over again.)
Adult Fiction
· Bertie Wooster from the JEEVES series (I know, he’s the unconventional, squirmy kind of hero who can always make me laugh. Humour in distress, eh?)
· Ned Kelly from TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG Peter Carey
· Mabel Stark from THE FINAL CONFESSIONs OF MABEL STARK Robert Hough
· Lucy Snowe from VILLETTE Charlotte Brontë
· Captain Woodrow F. Call from LONESOME DOVE Larry McMurtry
· Alessandro Giuliani from A SOLDIER OF THE GREAT WAR Mark Helprin
· Lord Aragorn from THE LORD OF THE RINGS J.R.R. Tolkien
· Peter Lake from WINTER’S TALE Mark Helprin
And some strange ones
· Jack Skellington from The Nightmare before Christmas (I don’t know why …)
· Beetlejuice (This one I really can’t explain!)
What about you and/or your children? Who are your heroes from books and animation (or even films)?
That was a line from President Bartlett (of ‘The West Wing’) in an episode about a bomb attack in a school, in which many terrified students tried to escape and more than a few clambered back to rescue fellow students (and ultimately died).
Remembering heroes and victims has been a shared theme around the world this past week.
Children, especially, need heroes. They may not entirely understand the evils and tragedies of the world, but they certainly know enough to appreciate the importance of heroic figures who’ve kept them safe.
Back in childhood (not too long ago, I assure you ...), stories were where I'd gotten my dose of heroic pride and comfort. Real and fictitious heroes have protected and comforted me since young. Today, I’d like to share my heroes who’ve given me courage in trying times, and goaded me into becoming a little braver and more determined:
Picture Books, Middle Grade Novels, Non-fiction, Young Adult Books, Comics &
Animations:
· The Lupine Lady from MISS RUMPHIUS Barbara Cooney
· Ted from MY PARENTS ARE DIVORCED, MY ELBOWS HAVE NICKNAMES, AND OTHER FACTS ABOUT ME Bill Cochran & Steve Björkman
· Matilda from MATILDA Roald Dahl
· Laura from LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE Laura Ingalls Wilder
· Jo March from LITTLE WOMEN Louisa May Alcott
· Jesse & Leslie from BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA Katherine Paterson
· Coraline from CORALINE Neil Gaiman
· Nobody Owens from The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman
· Gandhi from GHANDI - YOUNG NATION BUILDER Kathleen Kudlinski
· Johnny Appleseed from THE SUN, THE RAIN, AND THE APPLE SEED: A NOVEL OF JOHNNY APPLESEED’S LIFE Lynda Durrant
· Michael (or Mikha’el) from THE SONG OF THE WHALES Uri Orlev
· Alex from THE ISLAND ON BIRD STREET Uri Orlev
· Christopher from THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME Mark Haddon
· Will Halloway & Jim Nightshade from SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES Ray Bradbury
· Holden Caulfield from THE CATCHER IN THE RYE J.D. Salinger
· Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY Hayao Miyazaki
· Hanamichi Sakuragi from SLAM DUNK (a Japanese comic series that my sisters and I can read over and over again.)
Adult Fiction
· Bertie Wooster from the JEEVES series (I know, he’s the unconventional, squirmy kind of hero who can always make me laugh. Humour in distress, eh?)
· Ned Kelly from TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG Peter Carey
· Mabel Stark from THE FINAL CONFESSIONs OF MABEL STARK Robert Hough
· Lucy Snowe from VILLETTE Charlotte Brontë
· Captain Woodrow F. Call from LONESOME DOVE Larry McMurtry
· Alessandro Giuliani from A SOLDIER OF THE GREAT WAR Mark Helprin
· Lord Aragorn from THE LORD OF THE RINGS J.R.R. Tolkien
· Peter Lake from WINTER’S TALE Mark Helprin
And some strange ones
· Jack Skellington from The Nightmare before Christmas (I don’t know why …)
· Beetlejuice (This one I really can’t explain!)
What about you and/or your children? Who are your heroes from books and animation (or even films)?
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