This Day

At Lincoln Elementary, Ms. Normale rewards a group of science students with a field trip to the coast. Ajwad, Rachel and the others might have thought twice about accepting the honor if they'd known what was to come!

From the author:
The seed for "This Day" began with concern for bullying of religious minorities. Out of that desire to honor diversity, I discovered a deep vein of similarity running through disparate beliefs and practices, including those flowing outside any religious stream. How did I come upon the likenesses? A group of science students ~ you might call them geeks ~ showed up in my mind and basically told me their story of a field trip gone haywire, and how, at their intersection with disaster, the most unlikely stepped into hero's shoes. Oddly ... the kids' affinity to science expanded into a way to honor "separation of church and state" in schools, yet allow for dialoguing amongst all persuasions. (Elemental for a multicultural society, n'est pas?) And how is this effected? Well ... you'd better read the book. Ajwad, Rachel, Li Hua, and Lon don't want me to say more, though if I stay to write another sentence, homeschooling Zanaeda and Ms. Normale surely will!