I read a charming story about a beet and maize product that melts road ice and feeds the birds. I can’t find a reference on any site but social media, so this is a ‘too good to be true’ tall, tall tale. The photograph shows birds dining on the deep red beet path, but I think the plow is headed in the wrong direction.

Wondering about media authenticity and reliability is something our educators deal with every day. Photographs and facts are not necessarily, well, real. Finnish students start thinking about media literacy as early as kindergarten. The disinformation coming into Finland may be from Russia, with whom they share an 800-mile border. Knowing what is true is key to their survival. I appreciate this Finnish educator’s statement, “You have a right to your own opinion, but you do not have the right to your own facts.”

November leads the way to winter and holidays. My childhood Thanksgiving table was decorated with little Pilgrim candles, a boy with a tall black hat, a girl with a long white apron, and a turkey with its tail unfurled. Of course, I now know that the real depth of the history of our Thanksgiving is much more complex than anything those three little wax figures implied.

The story of the beet and maize de-icer and the complexity of the November holiday remind me to pay attention, be curious, and check sources. 

Speaking of sources, for your reading pleasure I suggest a charming and disarming novel, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books, by Kirsten Miller. A small Southern town, a statue radiating harm and history, a book-banning committee, and a little free library that suddenly incites new awareness. Race, extremism, broken relationships with neighbors, and estranged families all come together unexpectedly.  Fair warning though; reading this book may keep you up later than you intended because it is so darned engaging.

For December reading with young friends, please consider Come and Join Us! by Liz Kleinrock and illustrator Chaaya Prabhat. You’ll find out about eighteen dazzling year-round global holidays. As we go into December and make our way into the New Year, Kleinrock’s book reminds me that there are many ways to celebrate human culture and belief. May we find ways to welcome them all, to ask questions, check our sources, and learn from good conversations. 

Celebrate the lights and wonder of this time of year–

Provincetown’s Lopez Square Lobster Pot Tree (2016)