A Letter to My Teacher

An gorgeous ode to teachers. Expressive and child-friendly illustrations by Nancy Carpenter pair perfectly with Deborah Hopkinson's honest, insightful, and loving prose. Wonder at the emotions in child and teacher's faces on the cover: the girl's head is tipped in curious wonder, the teacher, complete with pencil in hair, is totally focused on the child. "I stood there ornery and dripping, just sure I'd get in trouble. But instead you grinned at me. 'Good morning! Look at you, standing there like Mary Kingsley just back from canoeing up the Ogooue River.'" Just the right words to hook a reluctant child. This would be the perfect gift to a child's favorite teacher or to a new teacher.

In this beautiful love letter to her second-grade teacher - and to teachers in general - picture-book author Deborah Hopkinson spins a moving tale, one in which a little girl with lots of energy and not quite enough patience is gently and compassionately guided through the sometimes stormy learning process by a dedicated and understanding educator. Although not limitless, the teacher's patience is often evident, and so too is her sympathy for and identification with the little girl-narrator, who might have trouble sitting still, or learning to read at first, but who also possesses an inquiring mind and an infectious sense of enthusiasm for the world around her. In the end, the little girl grows up and justifies all of her teacher's show more care, choosing a vocation that is a tribute to her childhood mentor and friend...

I found A Letter To My Teacher an immensely poignant book - I actually found myself blinking away tears as I reached the final page, and discovered what the little girl intended to do with her life, as a grown-up - and think that it makes a wonderful tribute to educators, whose role in society is as crucial as it is (often) under-appreciated. That said, Hopkinson's narrative is also an engaging story in its own right, and her main character (autobiographical, one supposes) makes a believable and sympathetic heroine. The accompanying artwork by Nancy Carpenter, created in pen and ink, as well as digitally, is every bit as appealing as the story, capturing the little girl's varying emotions perfectly, and using color and contrast in astute ways. Highly recommended to anyone looking for picture-books featuring teachers and educators, or to those just looking for children's stories about feisty and lovable girls. show less

I would just like you to know that I am currently crying because of this book. It TUGGED on my heart. This book is a letter to a little girl's 2nd grade teacher. She talks about different events that happened while in 2nd grade, and how her teacher handled every single one with patience and kindness. One of the things she remembers was struggling with reading, and instead of her teacher embarrassing her, she called her to her desk and said that it was okay to stumble and she suggested to read to her cat every night before bed. The girl writing the letter was always exploring, and getting into things she wasn't supposed to, but the teacher never shamed her for it. She just called her a little explorer and embraced the person that she show more was. At the end of the book, it is reveled that the little girl is all grown up and writing to her teacher because she was about to start her new job... as a 2nd grade teacher!!! TALK ABOUT A TEAR-JERK AND WHY I WANT TO BE A TEACHER. I absolutely love this book, and I love how the teacher is portrayed in a positive light. I feel as though teachers are, if not always, seen as the "big bad wolf". Which is why when you tell people you want to be a teacher their reactions are anything but nice. Introducing books like this to students, and even adults, is a great way to rid the stigma that comes with being a teacher. Teachers are just normal people that have a lot of love to give, and they decide to give it to people every single day of their lives. Will add this to my classroom library for sure. show less

This book highlights the relationship between a student and their teacher. It is so sweet! It really captures how big of a difference a great teacher can make in our lives and how we still remember the effect they had on us years later. It made me recall how much I absolutely loved my elementary school teachers, which I think is a powerful thing for a book to be able to do!

Her teacher is there for her time after time again. She seems to always know what to say or what to do, and she always seems able to get the girl interested in learning again. The teacher even gives her a book about an explorer that she had compared her to before in order to get the student interested in reading! The student doesn't quite know how to say thank you show more for all that her teacher has done, so she creates what she calls a "memory quilt" that illustrates the story of their second grade year together. The teacher is touched by the thoughtful gift and promises to never forget their class. The student grows up, and she writes a letter to her second-grade teacher. She writes to her the night before her first day of work, thanking her for everything that she helped her explore and for encouraging her to always try her best to be like the teacher. The letter thanks her for being her teacher. show less

This was such a sweet book. I loved how it showed what teachers go through with our challenging students, but through it all they showed love and patience. It showed that your hard work truly does pay off and that you really do make a difference.

Return 3/20

I love this book. It shows us that teachers really impact children lives. This book is about a young girl who has or had behavior problems and as a child and she realizes when she got older how much her teacher help her through life. This girl writes her old teacher a letter and tells her how much she has helped her become the woman she is today.