Local 3rd grader did something awesome!

[charlotte49ers]

Granted, I'm sure it was already in the works, but how encouraging for these kids and the state of reading!

A local 3rd grader (I teach 3rd at a different school) wanted a Books-A-Million in town (we don't have a bookstore here other than a little hole in the wall one that has limited selection) and started a letter writing campaign to get one. He got the word from the CEO himself in person that we would be getting a store!

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/b ... racle.html

From the New Yorker article:

Given the more-or-less constant barrage of sad news about bookstores closing their doors, it’s easy to imagine a sort of anti-intellectual Grinch gleefully rubbing his hands together in anticipation of a bookless Christmas this year. (“I must stop children from reading!” he exclaims, smashing a Kindle and dumping stack after forlorn stack of paperbacks into his sack.)

But, as the season’s first snow flurries fell in New York yesterday morning, we awoke to news of a Christmas miracle in a faraway land. Could it be? Charlie McClurg, a third-grader in Dalton, Georgia, wished for a bookstore. But instead of sending his request to Santa Claus, he launched a letter-writing campaign begging Books-A-Million to open a branch in his hometown. On Friday, the Dalton Daily Citizen reports, Clyde B. Anderson, the Books-A-Million chairman and C.E.O, came to Westwood Elementary School to deliver the good news: a new bookstore will indeed open at the nearby Walnut Square Mall, perhaps even in time for Christmas.

The local article:

http://daltondailycitizen.com/local/x18 ... -bookstore

[Watcher55]

Great story. I think your links are broken though.

[Sommer Leigh]

That's a great story :-)

[charlotte49ers]

Fixed them! :-)

[Watcher55]

Finally, and most sappily, I’m pleased to hear that Charlie and friends still like to visit bookstores, and that they’ve now learned something about the power of the written word. Those letters got someone’s attention. They made a bookstore appear out of thin air. It’s a bit of magic that I suspect the children will remember for years to come. Maybe some of them will go on to become writers. At the very least, let’s hope that they all keep reading. As we grumble and wring our hands over the future of book publishing, we must remember to celebrate the small victories.

Asentiment shared by writers everywhere I'm sure.

[J. T. SHEA]

Awesome indeed! Bravo to Charlie McGlurg and his letter writers!

[Mira]

That's amazing! When I was in 3rd grade, I wasn't doing things like that. Right on, Young Warrior!!

[Robin]

That's beautiful! I hope the adults around him continue to support his ideas in the future. Kids are so fearless-- such amazing little creatures.