The One Hundred Box Part 2

My name is Gerald Peplow. I am a retired Elementary and Special Education Teacher. This reading video is from a book called, "The 100 Penny Box". It is in 4 parts. It is intended to help students practice reading and develop a sense of others. It is from Sharon Bell Mathis and illustrated by Leo and Dianne Dillon. It is the story of a special relationship between a young boy named Michael and his Great Aunt Dewbet Thomas. This is more than a story. The Hundred Penny Box is a lesson in relationships. It portrays the ability of a young boy to reach across the years and find his Great Aunt Dew who has been moved from her family home to be cared for by her nephew. The story describes the struggles of change in a family. It also displays the difficulties in extend family relationships. The "Hundred Penny Box" made my wife think of her Grandma Swails and the stories she told before she passed. Sharon uses oral history to convey the distance in years between the past and the future. The Hundred Penny Box was written 1975. I was only 15 years old. For the last 15 years I have read this book to my 4th Grade classes. With all the projects, including collecting pennies, I believe my students reached beyond themselves and made closer contact with the world around them!