Our class has read many books this year, and after brainstorming what we felt were qualities of a hero, we began to think back about some of those books and the heroes and heroines in each.

We just finished reading The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla. In this story, Ivy showed the characteristic of selflessness. She was a heroine to Gregory when he needed a friend.  F.N. Monjo wrote in Follow the Drinking Gourd Follow the Drinking Gourd about the various risks involved to help slaves escape to the north. Those risk takers were certainly heroes. A Girl Named Helen Keller by Margo Lundell introduced us to Anne Sullivan, a teacher who went above and beyond the call of her duty to help Helen. Earlier in the year, we read Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles in which we thought both the Old One and Annie were heroines. The Old One was brave in the way she faced death and Annie showed great courage by accepting this unavoidable event.  The Legend of the Bluebonnet by DePaola is an example of ultimate sacrifice by a little girl when her village is in dying due to a drought. She was truly a heroine to the village to the point where even her named changed to honor her actions. On a much lighter note, Grandma proves to be the heroine by being helpful in The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins.

We then asked each student to name their personal hero. Here is a list of the results:

Mrs. Cranford: My dad is my hero. Even though I lost him in 2002, he remains to this day the person who continues to shape my life daily.

Brittany: My Ant Sallie is my hero. She helps older people. She took me in and loves me.

Brian: My hero is me because I servived cancer and I almost died. And my grandpa because he was in the war.

Colton: My hero is Papa Don because heis tough and he is a good person. He was in the Navy so he knows how to protect me and keeps me safe. Papa Don is cool because he keeps people from harming others. I love my Papa Don because he helps people with money problems.

Adrian: My dad is a hero. He works so hard and he is the best dad. I love my family and my brother. We are a family.

Jennifer: My hero is Patsy because she takes care of me and Lizzy and Mamat. She loves me. I love Nany. She is a caring person.

>Alex: My hero is my step dad because he is a shairf and is helpful. He is nice and playful.

So we want to know, “Do YOU know a hero?”  If so, please leave a comment and let us know who it is and why.