Chains: ONE FAMILY'S REVIEW
Loree Griffin Burns, Ph.D.
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| ellen harasimowicz |
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When I am older and my kids are grown and I think back on my parenting, I will surely cherish memories of our time reading together. At the very fore of these memories will be the winter vacation when we sat together and read
Chains. We finished the book days ago, and still the four of us are talking about Isabel and Mistress Lockton and the twin cruelties of slavery and war.
Some might argue this book is too intense for a family readaloud, particularly for families with younger children. They might be right. The kids were introduced to a dangerous and terrible time in our nation's history, and they did witness atrocities of injustice. But … they experienced these things with me, in our living room, snuggled up together on the couch. They were safe and warm and free to contemplate the darker sides of humanity with Mom at their side. If they are going to experience these things—and I believe they must in order to be sure that we, as a society, don't repeat the mistakes of our past—then I'd rather have them experience them with me in the living room than alone in the world outside our front door.
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| Loree Giffin Burn's Book |
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Chains may not be the perfect readaloud for every family, but it was the perfect one for us. Thank you, Laurie Halse Anderson, for giving us this unforgettable story to share.
Loree Griffin Burns, Ph.D. is a Central MA mom of three children, twins Sam and Ben, age 10, and Catherine, age 7. When not reading with her children, Burns writes children's books about science and the environment.
For more information on her books or on her school and library programs - and for more family reading recommendations - visit www.loreegriffinburns.com
