October 30

Luke's book project this month was the genre "realistic fiction" (last month he authored his own autobiography ABC book).

For this assignment, he read a book his wonderful Grammy Nan gave him for Christmas last year - And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold, the story of a 12-year-old boy born into a shepherding family in northern New Mexico and at that awkward lifestage of no longer a boy, but not yet a man.

He fashioned a great costume to give his presentation to his class as Miguel. He found a bandana to cover his face from the dust the sheep turn up, a blue wool sarape to keep him warm during the cold nights sleeping in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and a sturdy walking stick to not only help him in that climb but guide wayward sheep back into the flock.

And in his words: "The sheep like to eat salt crystals that look like rock candy. I wanted to bring you all real salt crystals like the sheep ate, but I didn't think you would like that too much so I brought you sugar rock candy instead."

I'm grateful rock candy hasn't gone the way of the Halloween Carnival and I was able to find enough to go around. I'm also grateful for his wonderful teacher and her creative assignments.