The Best Graduation Gifts

By Holly E. Newton

The end of the school year connotes graduation time, celebrating many different levels of school completions. Books, as always, are the perfect gift and help commemorate this important event in a young person¹s life. Here is a list of some outstanding picture books celebrating the graduate.

For the younger reader celebrating a change in schools, here is a simple tale about judgment.

Zen Shorts, by widely acclaimed author Jon J. Muth, is a story that involves three tales. Three children become friends with a giant panda. He imparts a clever story for each child. One of the tales expertly demonstrates how we need to forgive. A young monk criticizes an older monk for carrying an unappreciative traveler over rain puddles, as he says, "She didn't even thank you!" The wise older man replies, "I set the woman down hours ago." The older monk was able to forgive and forget, while the young monk was still learning this lesson of forgiveness.

Another perfect book for the younger child is This Little Light of Mine. This picture book is based on the familiar song of the same title and is illustrated beautifully by the acclaimed E. B. Lewis. The words of the song describe how the light from within will shine on and on. But, the pictures tell much, much more. A young boy sees another youngster sitting alone, appearing dejected as he is slumped with his head in his hands. As the song progresses throughout the book, the boy invites the sad fellow to join his friends and before long a smile shines through the sad face. This book will surely strike a chord with all ages!

Sometimes it's the wordless books that seem to have the greatest message. Home, by Jeannie Baker, shows the progress of life through an open window. Ms. Baker has small remnants of a girl's life on the windowsill, displaying her growth though the years. For instance, the book begins with congratulations for the birth of a baby girl. Through the window, you see the proud parents in their back yard holding this new baby. There are older looking vehicles on the street beyond the yard. Several pages later, there's the girl as a teen putting makeup on in a mirror that's sitting on the windowsill. Beyond the yard is a full garden and beyond that newer looking cars on the street. There's much to observe and reflect on one's own growth throughout the years.

Sometimes biographies are the perfect inspiration for graduates. Walt Whitman: Words for America, by Barbara Kerley, is a look into the life of one of America's best and most famous poets. His poetry reflected the feelings of our country during the tumultuous Civil War. I found it fascinating that when Walt was young, he loved words and loved to read. He was always writing down feelings and expressions in his little notebook. In the Author¹s Note located in the back of the book, he states that when he was eleven years old, he was given a library card. Later he added, it was ³...the signal event of my life up to that time." Brian Selznick beautifully illustrated the pictures throughout the book, and he studied many historical documents and locations to accurately reconstruct this amazing poet¹s life.

Here is a perfect companion to Walt Whitman¹s biography. When I Heard the Learn¹d Astronomer is a wonderfully illustrated book by Loren Long, based on Walt Whitman¹s famous poem. This poem celebrates the amazing imagination that is budding in all of us. The incredible pictures take you to a young boy's experience as he ponders life and the stars, ³In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.²

Mother Teresa, by award winning Demi, is an inspirational account of one humble woman serving those much less fortunate and extremely poor. This incredible woman gave all that she had throughout her life. Included here is wisdom that we can glean from her: ³Life Is An Opportunity --Avail It. Life Is Beautiful --Admire It. Life Is A Challenge --Meet It. Life Is Costly --Care For It. Life Is A Promise --Fulfill It. Life Is Sorrow --Overcome It. Life Is Too Precious --Do Not Destroy It.²

And lastly, here's a book celebrating and exploring the endless possibilities of life. Imagine a Day, by Sarah L. Thompson, and creatively illustrated by Rob Gonsalves, will spark your imagination --beyond imagination. ³Imagine a day Š when a book swings open on silent hinges, and a place you've never seen before welcomes you here.² Give a great gift to your graduate. Give a book to inspire, motivate and celebrate!

Visit Holly's Web Site!

Remember your Grad but don't forget Dad! One click gets you access to all the best Father's Day gift ideas on the web.
Click here for great Father's Day Gift Ideas!

1. TAP: Vol 15, Iss. 2. Aiming High. Garance Franke-Ruta.
... in an October 2003 speech. Last September, Jay ... statistics on high-school dropouts. The ... them in their graduation statistics. Revised ... dropout rates, for example, have turned Paige ...
http://www.prospect.org/print/V15/2/gfr.html

2. NCATE - public - News
... for improving graduation rate calculations ... change in his speech at the National ... a typical public high school in New York City ... to complete. For example, suspending a ...
http://www.ncate.org/public/ednews.asp?ch=148

3. Gotham Gazette's Best Education Links for New York City
... discuss what is wrong. For example, only 4.1 percent of special ... Bloomberg touched on in his speech at the "Parents As Partners ... 2005) Truth Test: Is High School Graduation Rate Up or Down? (10 ...
http://www.gothamgazette. ...education/inthenews/6

4. Valedictorian Speeches - a little advice | CEO Blues
... it. The trappings of High School are there to be ... as the bulk of your speech. Think I'm crazy? It ... at my sister's graduation Thursday night ... com For a fine example (not a valedictory ...
http://www.ceoblues.com/a ...03/may/valedictorians

5. Turning the Wheels of Progress: Office of the President: Indiana University
... places on freedom: freedom of speech, of expression, of ... research and culture. For example, the American Democracy ... Paper 3: Public High School Graduation and College Readiness ...
http://www.indiana.edu/~pres/comments102204.shtml

6. Workindex.com's Legal Clinic Archive
... Is this practice legal and not a form of a free speech violation? Also, in my case, I wear a size 5XL ... ... if the employee owes the company money? For example he/she owes the company money for tuition ...
http://www.workindex.com/legal/legalarc.asp

7. http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/openlaw/DVD/dmca/cr21ap99s.txt
... The ``shopping mall'' high school is all too common. ``It's not unusual to find high schools of 2,000, 3,000, or even 4,000 students and junior high schools of 1,500 or more, especially in urban ...

8. Graduation i : Hawaii High School Graduations
... High School Graduation Speech High School Graduation ... The Graduation Song Yale Graduation ADD CATEGORY Hawaii High ... High School Class Reunions Class reunion publicity. Product offerings, example ...
http://graduationi.com/ha ...graduations/index.php

9. MetroBEAT - CFE Case to Court of Appeals: Pataki Should Settle
... to meet high school graduation requirements! The ... necessary for all high school graduates in New ... than would be, for example, a contention that ... protections of speech should not be held ...
http://www.educationupdat ...2/issue/metro-cfe.htm

10. Graduation Party Invitation Idea
... party invitation example graduation invitation ... invitation party saying high school graduation ... idea graduation law school graduation gift idea ... food idea graduation speech idea graduation ...
http://www.idea7.com/grad ...arty-invitation-idea/

11. Prayer
... hearts to you Lord. Let our SPEECH be always with loving Grace ... delivered to we, the high school graduation class reminding us to ... make it known by precept and example in our daily living.. There ...
http://nafts.org/prayer.htm

12. Breast augmentation one breast larger after surgery
... high school high school graduation speech suzuki atv repair ... cobra for sale holy cross high school sacramento ford dealers ... the mush was made by as, for example, by the over the room as a ...
http://breast-augmentatio ...er-surgery.haam.info/

13. http://www.donmac.org/OldSmilers/O19.txt
... that was never developed. 21. A plateau is a high form of flattery. 22. The short fortune-teller ... ... _________. 18. Today, the math geniuses in school might walk around with a calculator strapped ...

14. Anoopa Sharma
... of my speech about Anoopa ... with me. For example, I have met or ... periods was during high school, partly ... while we were in school and apart. One ... that. In her graduation pictures, I am ...
http://www.anoopa.net/

15. Joint Prep Requirements for the MN State Universities and the U of MN
... and world literatures; speech may include both public ... taught in high schools (for example, Spanish, French, German), as ... of developing a new high school graduation rule based on ...
http://www.fpd.finop.umn. ...policy/jointprep.html

16. Kurdistan Bloggers Union
... accepted for post graduation studies while those ... in Middle East for example! (Imagine what would ... thing happened in the speech was, in front of the ... My sons are high school graduates. But ...
http://kurdistanblog.blogspot.com/

17. High school graduation speech
... speech writing commencement speech high school graduation speech speech disorder welcome speech ... ... bestman speech bush speech persuasive speech example speech therapist demonstration speech ...
http://speech.90love.net/ ...raduation_speech.html

18. Don't Hide God in a Closet
... after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard ... ... roots (post-Revolutionary France was an example of the latter), the love of liberty has at ...
http://www.belcherfoundat ...e_God_in_a_closet.htm

19. Job opportunities in the armed forces
... quality of care. As another example, purchasing and contracting ... patients with hearing and speech problems. Dietitians manage ... Armed Forces require high school graduation or its equivalent for ...
http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos249.htm

20. Commentary: New Leadership Needed For Kingís Other Dreams
... the 1950s. In this tradition, King, in his 1967 speech ìWhere Do We Go From Here,î contended that, if ... ... discriminatory programs. For example, high-school graduation requirements are lowered in ...
http://www.acton.org/ppol ...nt/article.php?id=239

21. The Silent Penguin: July 2004 Archives
... release the balloons, have a speech and be back on the road by ... uses our Cocoon book as an example and shows how Amazon ... of the 20 year high-school graduation anniversary next year ...
http://www.silentpenguin. ...es/2004/07/index.html

22. Commission for educational exchage - Glossary
... fee, graduation fee ... year student at a high school, college ... agency (for example, the foreign ... Professional School: Institutions ... e.g. writing, speech. Required ...
http://www.fulbright.be/Glossary.htm

23. High School Graduation
... Discount High School Graduation Announcement Early High School Graduation Example Of High School Graduation Speech Florida High School Graduation Requirement Free High School Graduation Poem ...
http://www.mygraduationgi ...highschoolgraduation/

24. The Shaun Kenney Website - ShaunKenney.com
... ll Wish You'd Known If I ever give a high school graduation speech, I promise two things. First, it ... ... why only when it's American blood? As a recent example, the operation in Fallujah delivered an ...
http://www.shaunkenney.com/2005_01_01_archive.htm

25. acalog4™ ACMS: Academic Regulations
... English 1002G, and Speech Communication 1310G ... to graduation from high school. In no case may a ... adjustments to graduation plans as will ... activity per week (for example, art studio ...
http://catalog.eiu.edu/co ...p?catoid=7&navoid=145

26. Frequently Asked Questions
... interrelated. For example, both boys and ... is in high school. We feel it is ... do after graduation? Waldorf ... A list of Waldorf high schools is ... of music and speech. Eurythmy helps ...
http://www.awsna.org/awsna-faq.html

27. Jared's One Blog: May 2004 Archives
... some real moxie in a speech that had NAALCP ... my application for graduation, and my approval ... I graduated with in high school ... small world ... shouted, hehe. As an example of that, we were ...
http://www.jared-lee.com/ ...es/2004/05/index.html

28. UCOP: Frequently Asked Questions
... AP or IB course students are completing. For example, "AP Spanish" does not clearly indicated ... ... for online courses, the high school must grant course credit toward graduation and assign a grade (or ...
http://pathstat1.ucop.edu ...emplateName=faq/index

29. Claude Weaver Collection
... life. For example, there is the valedictory speech he made at his high school graduation as well as the speech he delivered at his sixtieth college reunion. Topics of speeches cover myriad social and ...
http://www.ou.edu/special ...r/archives/weaver.htm

30. Career-Resumes Blog
... is predicated on your speech and writing. People with ... not a good writer. A different example from a real person Äú In ... high school students have difficulty writing a complete paragraph upon graduation ...
http://www.career-resumes.com/blog/

31. Clear fork High School Graduation Requirements
... listed in the graduation program Grade ... Rank At Clear Fork High School, we keep a ... the start of the school year. * Any ... the points. For example, an ìAî in a ... course such as Speech would be counted ...
http://www.clearfork.k12. ...urses/currguide04.htm

32. Families Like Mine - Insight
... with my own high school experience. Her honesty and compassion has set an example for her peers ... ... three students to address the class at graduation. In her speech, she reminded students that their ...
http://www.familieslikemi ...m/insight/mentor.html

33. Prospective Student Information Form
... Spring 2006 Last Name First Name Date of Birth (example: 01/01/1985) Address: Street City State Zip ... ... Dis Hearing Impaired Speech/Theatre Year Of High School Graduation Received GED? Choose One ...
http://www.labette.edu/stusvcs/application2.htm

34. Volume 10 Number 2
... 5. Is There Life After High School? By Audra Thrower Graduation. A day filled with excitement ... ... easy, and helps out when in a pinch. For example, on a given day I make fifteen loaves of bread ...
http://www.thekingsdaughtermag.com/v10n2.htm

35. High School Graduation Speech
... s High School Graduation Speech Delivered June 6th, 1998 upon graduation from New Vista High School ... ... and those at another high school? "We don't take tests," is a common example. "Whoa, it is a ...
http://www.trevorstone.org/nvhsgradspeech.html

36. Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation: About School Choice
... Moreover, the High Court did not ... John Kerry (D), speech at Northeastern ... Cleveland, for example, school choice ... attend a public school that receives a ... safety and graduation rates. How ...
http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/schoolchoice/

37. Graduation Open House Invitation
... sample graduation party invitation high school graduation speech create a graduation invitation ... ... cheap graduation invitation graduation invitation verse example of graduation invitation ...
http://www.house11.com/gr ...pen-house-invitation/

38. Iowa Administrative Code: Board of Regents
... summers prior to high school graduation. In rare situations ... credit will be based on high school academic and standardized ... considered a nonresident. For example, it may be possible that an ...
http://www.registrar.uiow ...dofRegents/index.html

39. A - E
... Institute for American Values. Speech to Family Research Council's ... the education monopoly: An example Divorce (posted with ... as the requirement for high school graduation. Threats of ...
http://www.fathersforlife ...Table_contents_ae.htm

40. Frequently Asked Questions About the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education C...
... with the birth process (for example, a cutoff in the oxygen ... to adjust the externally worn speech processing components of the ... pre-school through high school graduation. Transition is one of ...
http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/about/faq.html

41. Free Brochure - Accelerated Schools
... effective writing Example of schedule ... school calendar Graduation requirements ... as they wish. High motivation speeds ... In the part-time school, students may ... in writing and speech - the key ...
http://www.petersonwriting.com/free-brochure/

42. A is for Apiculate: December 2003 Archives
... traditions. I want to give an example from my own experience of how ... endeavors. While in Grad School I collaborated with a ... December 02, 2003 Graduation Speech In High School I wanted to ...
http://www.alanmurdock.co ...es/2003/12/index.html

43. Half the Sins of Mankind
... Noah Riner made a very good speech, and I can pinpoint the parts ... questionable: Jesus is a good example of character, but He's also ... three months between high school graduation and college ...
http://bertrandrussell.blogspot.com/

44. Eye on Education/Glossary
... of school. For example, learning to ... deviant, disabled, high-risk, etc.) can ... plans. school reform A general ... requirement for graduation. site-based ... ranging from speech therapy to math ...
http://www.eyeoneducation.tv/glossary/

45. Athlet earch .com
... setting, when it inspires hate speech and outright racism? American ... some haunting questions. For example, if American Indian symbols ... school prior to high school graduation? Why are American ...
http://www.athleticsearch.com/bonus-mascots.html

46. Basic Information - English Language Learners
... or her native language. For example, a student could receive bilingual speech therapy but only monolingual ... For information about high school graduation requirements, see our ...
http://www.insideschools.org/st/ST_ell.php

47. DISCOVERING YOUR UNIQUE, GOD-GIVEN DESIGN: Career Guidance: Christian Career...
... that are scary to use, like giving a public speech for the first time--studies show that people ... ... understand who you are. For example, at Kevin's high school graduation party a friend of the family ...
http://www.christiancaree ...uidance/adesign.shtml

48. Index
... High School Speech Contest Palomar College Graduation - Nursing ... Ride" Carlsbad High School + Film Class Screening & ... Media "ie" (illustrated example) Wake Sports Unlimited "All ...
http://www.carlsbadvillagetheatre.com/Prior.htm

49. FMCSA - Speech for Motor Carrier Enforcement Transition School Graduation - ...
... FAQ) Careers Speech for Motor ... SCHOOL GRADUATION MARCH 11, 2005 ... Transition School is a remarkable ... were able to set a high standard for ... an impressive example for other States ...
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ ...cshp-2005-remarks.htm

50. Robin McKinley: Gould Academy Graduation Speech
Gould Academy Graduation Speech As the first line of the following says, I graduated from Gould ... ... My parents sent me to boarding school for my senior year of high school as a last resort, to see ...
http://www.robinmckinley. ...ays/GouldAcademy.html

51. Good News! Great Kids! Stories
... occupational, and speech therapy allowed her ... the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam ... her class at Service High School this May. Caroline ... year old; but it is an example of Colleens ability ...
http://www.muni.org/mayorin/gngkkids.cfm

52. Red/Brian » 2005 » April
... Paul Grahams What Youll Wish Youd Known, a speech that was originally written for a high school graduation ceremony, but that works just as well for those graduating college any time soon (For example ...
http://watchred.com/?m=200504