Barry Manilow and Me

Last Friday night, six friends and I went to see the Barry Manilow concert here in Columbus at Nationwide Arena. We went totally on a lark, but ended up having a suprisingly delightful evening.

As we entered Nationwide Arena, everyone was handed a flyer detailing the concert dates for Manilow’s show in Las Vegas titled “music and passion” at the the Las Vegas Hilton. During the evening, as I listened to Barry Manilow share personal stories, as well as sing a lot of his well-known songs, I couldn’t help but see the passion that he has for sharing his music with audiences. He most definitely is a performer, but he is really trying to share his love for music with people of all ages. The makeup of the crowd would indicate that he is doing his job quite well – male, female, young, old – all were there to enjoy what Barry had to share for the evening. At this point, you may be wondering what this has to do with children’s books, and how I might use them in the classroom.

Here’s the deal – Barry Manilow and I have a lot in common (other than the facts that my facial features still have mobility and I can’t sing worth a darn). Both Barry and I have been working in our respective professions for a long time – I am in my 26th year of teaching. We both love what we do. We are both always looking at past material as well as the newest material available to decide what to share with others. And, last but not least, we both have the opportunity to share our passion with an audience on a regular basis. How lucky we are!

As I left Nationwide Arena with my “yaya” friends after the concert last Friday, still singing “Copacabana” (much to my chagrin, it’s Monday and I’m still humming it), I couldn’t help but reflect on my good fortune to be employed at a job I love, sharing books with my “audience” on a daily basis.

Maybe I’ll need to rename my classroom from Room 226 to “books and passion”. Somehow, it seems appropriate.