TheOtherKLMEmpathy Through Stories: Books & Films
“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.” — Mary Schmich
Five BooksMom says I can bring home five.
Five books.
As if five were enough.
I wander the aisles
passing sharks,
dinosaurs,
Greek gods,
and a glossy guide to Spain
where every photograph
looks warmer than Utah.
A Brady Bunch mystery
finds its way into my arms.
Jan Brady,
private eye.
I grab a book about castles,
another about volcanoes,
and one filled with maps
that unfold into places
I cannot pronounce.
Soon I am carrying eleven.
Thirteen.
Fourteen.
The problem is not
what to take home.
The problem is leaving behind
the pyramids,
the Amazon,
a boy crossing the prairie,
a girl hiding in an attic,
a submarine descending
into impossible darkness.
Mom says five.
So I stand there
holding South America,
the Ming Dynasty,
Walt Disney,
the Time Machine,
and Jan Brady
trying to decide
which five worlds
I get
to carry home
this week.
Two Books
Two books changed how I see the world: To Kill a Mockingbird and Long Way Down.
My first reading of To Kill a Mockingbird was my first real encounter with injustice. I was learning at the same time Scout was. Like her, I believed adults would do the right thing, that courts would seek the truth, and that innocence mattered. As Scout’s understanding of the world changed, so did mine.
Years later, Long Way Down felt like a companion piece. If Mockingbird taught me that injustice exists, Long Way Down taught me how its effects linger across generations. Jason Reynolds places readers inside a young man’s grief, fear, and anger, asking us not merely to observe but to understand.
Together, these books taught me that empathy is more than feeling sorry for someone. It is recognizing that every person is carrying a story we may not fully see. They changed how I view students, strangers, and even myself.
Two Movies
Two films deserve honorable mention.
To Kill a Mockingbird remains one of the rare occasions where I will argue that the movie is just as good as the book. Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch is so convincing that it is difficult for me to imagine the character any other way. As a teacher, I have also witnessed something remarkable: it is one of the few films that can bring a room full of high school freshmen boys to tears.
Time After Time took me in a different direction. Rather than adapting The Time Machine, it transforms H. G. Wells into the protagonist of his own adventure. I loved the premise, and it eventually led me back to the novel itself.
Books and movies often compete for our attention, but sometimes they work together. One deepened my appreciation for a story I already knew. The other introduced me to a classic that was waiting on a library shelf.
Daily writing prompt What’s a piece of media (book, movie, song) that changed how you see the world? View all responses #dailyprompt #dailyprompt2804 #library #LongWayDown #movies #TheBradyBunch #TheTimeMachine #TimeAfterTime #ToKillAMockingbird
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