JANUARY 2016: The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall - A great read for middle school students about friendship, hope and redemption.
“In other words, there could be a lot of reasons why people decided to save some things and why they threw others away – reasons that might not make any sense until you dug much deeper.” Arthur pg. 92 – The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall
Arthur Owens never would have thought that the person he hurt the most would be the person to help him the most. Arthur isn’t a bad kid, but he did something bad, something that could have been a lot worse, and now he has to deal with the consequences. It hadn’t been a great year to start with, Arthur’s dad had died in a motorcycle accident and there were whispers about the cause of the accident. Arthur was doing his best to adjust and trying to ignore the gossip. However when he sees the junk man wearing his dad’s favorite hat, something inside of him snaps, he picks up a brick and throws it. It could have been a lot worse, Arthur only hit the junk man in the arm, but he still finds himself sentenced to a juvenile detention home for 3 weeks. When he gets out, life isn’t any better. Everyone at school is steering clear of him, they think he’s dangerous and not to be trusted, plus he’s been sentenced to a year of probation working for the junk man. Rain, sleet or snow Arthur has to spend his Saturdays searching for the junk man’s “seven most important things” - glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, light bulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. What does the junk man need with all this trash? Read The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall to find out. Inspired in part by the artwork of James Hampton, this book isn’t just a story about collecting trash; it’s a story about dealing with loss, a story of hope and redemption and a story of friendship.
Take a look at some of James Hampton’s art work, which is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in Washington DC.
(picture from the Smithsonian American Art Museum web-site)
Arthur Owens never would have thought that the person he hurt the most would be the person to help him the most. Arthur isn’t a bad kid, but he did something bad, something that could have been a lot worse, and now he has to deal with the consequences. It hadn’t been a great year to start with, Arthur’s dad had died in a motorcycle accident and there were whispers about the cause of the accident. Arthur was doing his best to adjust and trying to ignore the gossip. However when he sees the junk man wearing his dad’s favorite hat, something inside of him snaps, he picks up a brick and throws it. It could have been a lot worse, Arthur only hit the junk man in the arm, but he still finds himself sentenced to a juvenile detention home for 3 weeks. When he gets out, life isn’t any better. Everyone at school is steering clear of him, they think he’s dangerous and not to be trusted, plus he’s been sentenced to a year of probation working for the junk man. Rain, sleet or snow Arthur has to spend his Saturdays searching for the junk man’s “seven most important things” - glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, light bulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. What does the junk man need with all this trash? Read The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall to find out. Inspired in part by the artwork of James Hampton, this book isn’t just a story about collecting trash; it’s a story about dealing with loss, a story of hope and redemption and a story of friendship.
Take a look at some of James Hampton’s art work, which is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in Washington DC.
(picture from the Smithsonian American Art Museum web-site)