Got Entitlement? You might need Lydia Grace!

So we hear about it all the time right?  About every 6 or 7 words or so during the election... entitlement, entitlement, entitlement.   And with Christmas season and the "gimmies"  right around the corner,  I started thinking about this.   We all see it in our classrooms.   Sadly,  I sometimes even see it in my own babies.   So this time of year, I like to add a dose of a precious little character... Lydia Grace Finch.  Lydia Grace is the antithesis of entitlement.   Do you know her?   You NEED to.   Lydia Grace is the main character of the beautiful book The Gardener by Sarah Stewart.  She is growing up in the 30's and her parents are out of work.   She is sent to live with an uncle she doesn't even know,  and she is an example of how a positive attitude changes everything.   It is a series of letters from her to various members of her family that show their thankfulness in hard times, and their ability to keep giving,  even when things are difficult.  It is a great letter writing book,  but it is so much more than that.     It gives kids so much to think about... and maybe a chance to look inward?   It is a great book to get a discussion going.   I made a little unit to go along with it, which is up on TpT.   It is inspired by the questioning in Debbie Miller's amazing book - Reading with Meaning.

For the next month,  I will send a free copy to anyone who follows my site and leaves me a comment (and an email address I can send it to!).