Paddle to the Sea

My boss does this very cool thing; she puts all the journals, newsletters, and other professional development materials that she receives into little bundles. Then she circulates them among all the deans so we can read/copy the things that interest us. They got backlogged and 5 landed in my office today. As I was going through the stuff, I remembered the wonderful book and film Paddle to the Sea from elementary school. The whole thing is posted (legally) on YouTube, so here it is for your enjoyment.





I loved comparing my Boss' lit sharing to this great memory from childhood. The boy who carves Paddle to the Sea has no idea about the little toy's adventures. As a kid, I was fascinated by things such as buried treasure and messages a the bottle. I sent several messages in bottles on Lake Michigan and got a letter from a woman who found one of them one year.

This 1966 film takes me back to other memorable movies from elementary school. I won't embed them here (out of respect for Paddle to the Sea), but two others I remember fondly are The Red Balloon (1956) and Pollution, an animated short set to Tom Lehrer's wonderful song of the same title. I could not find that film online, so the link is to Lehrer playing the song.

Upon reflection, I think that the experience of making the shark for Owen really look me back to Paddle to the Sea.