No School Bus - Three

In the final of three blogs prompted by the “Getting There” article in Smithsonian magazine, I think about those who had no bus at all – neither the yellow one with a lengthy ride on which I did homework nor the farm wagon converted to school transportation ridden by my mother. Two favorite writers reached into the truth of their ancestors to produce fiction that tells this story well.

The Look

In her book that I read recently, Katherine Paterson tells the story of her short experience in teaching. When she had no problems with a class that had previously caused great difficulty to a strong authoritarian male teacher, one of the students gave this explanation, “She had this Look. When she fixed it on you, you knew to stop what you were doing and straighten up.”

The Other Side of the River

Author Alda Dobbs read my review of The Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna and took pity on my impatience for the sequel and sent me an advance reading copy of The Other Side of the River to cut my wait. In this sequel, twelve-year-old Petra must find a way in this world that is totally new to her, beginning with the immigrant camp with double death threats of smallpox and hunger.