Hello! My name is Lindsey Russ, and I am also part of the Math Specialist Masters Program. I received my undergrad at Appalachian State, where I could have sworn to you that I would be getting my Masters in reading! Things change, but my love for reading has not.

I chose the text Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey, though StellalunaI is in a VERY close second. I remember multiple family members reading this book to me, and probably because I didn't give them much of a choice. I think I loved the relationship between Sal and her mother and I was intrigued that I could relate to this child, yet the story clearly took place "a long time ago", at least in my mind. The "Kerplink, Kerplank, Kerplunk" of the berries hitting the pail are so vivid, and every time I hear someone talk about the game, Kerplunk, I immediately think of this book. This has always been one of my favorites, and it hit closer to home when I shared this book with a school I student taught, that had a extremely low SES. A lot of these children had never had a blueberry. Though it was somewhat heartbreaking, it led into a wonderful opportunity to bring them in  and expand on this amazing text the next day! When you can not only share your love of reading picture books with students, but have them lead to discussions and opportunities that otherwise they would not be exposed to is a beautiful thing.