(Image by Celestine Chua, Creative Commons License https://www.flickr.com/photos/celestinechua/14434197266/)
I haven't been here for awhile! Yes, I missed you, and I'm sure you've been busy with this and that, just as I have been. Have you thought about how sometimes time zooms by and other times it crawls? And overall, our human time on earth is just a blip!
One thing I've been doing since I was last here is immersing myself in picture books. You know how much I love them if you've read my book for librarians & teachers, Teach Writing to Older Readers Using Picture Books. And I felt the need to learn what's currently being published.
One fascinating picture book about time was originally published in Portugal in 2008 and made it to this country in 2015 thanks to Enchanted Lion books--The World in a Second by Isabel Minhos Martins and illustrated by Bernardo P. Carvalho.
Though reviews bill this book as being for ages 4-8, the style and concept are appropriate for older children and even adults. "While you turn the pages of this book, the world doesn't stop...." And the book shows what happens around the world while you are turning the book's pages. Each spread could be a story unto itself. Visual clues let the reader know where the scene is taking place. The final page shows the locations and times referenced in the book. This is the kind of book that expands one's thinking and sparks wondering about time, other people, other places, and the world around us.
A lilting book for younger readers, By Day, By Night by Amy Gibson and illustrated by Meilo So shows us how alike we are no matter where we live. We all wake up in the morning and go about our various ways of making a living and spending time with friends and families. The illustrations show people of various cultures throughout the day, working, playing, making friends, learning, experiencing life, until it's bedtime--and then another day begins.
If you'd like to be more philosophical about time, here's an article about an experiment that proves time does not exist.
Still, we measure time, both as individuals and as a society. One thing we know--it goes by.
How do you measure time?
