"Every child deserves a childhood, a time of magic and wonder, of safety and security in which to discover what life has to offer." 

-Jim Greenman

When thinking of children's literature that really, truly means something to me, a new book comes to mind: Stuck by Oliver Jeffers. This is a book that has recently been added to my collection, after being recommended by a fellow educator at a recent professional development training. This educator is a model kindergarten teacher, who is constantly thinking outside of the box. The reason she shared this story with me was to inspire a "Why not?" attitude. Throughout the story, the main character finds himself struggling to think of a successful way to get his kite out from a tree. Each page shares a different, yet same solution: throwing a new object into the tree, with hopes that it will knock the kite out. The boy throws object, after object, but each time something new gets stuck. As he finally walks away, too discouraged to continue trying, all of the objects in the tree immediately start brainstorming new, unique ideas to get out of the tree. As sweet as the story is, it also holds a very powerful message: when at first you don't succeed, take the time to think of a new route. More often that not, children find themselves in situations that they can't quite seem to get themselves out of. As educators, it is so important that we provide children with not only the tools, but opportunities to learn ways to solve their own problems. The same approach does not always work. In fact, it very rarely works.