Running

There is a paragraph in
 Crash

 that is perfectly true:

"It's about the first thing you do when you're little kids--you race.  And the kid that wins, bam!  Right away he's the fastest, he's the best.  Walk into any neighborhood anywhere in the world and ask some kids who's the fastest one there, and right away they'll tell you, they'll point to him.  It's something everybody knows.  It's a title that goes with you on your street, your school, your town.  Fastest Kid."

This boy:

is the fastest runner in his grade, maybe in the whole school.  Tommy loves to run and he is fast!  I remember him running and passing all his Kindergarten friends at the school's field and being so surprised, and delighted, it was almost as if I were running with him.  Head down, arms pumping, feet flying, everyone was astonished at his speed! 

Lucy, sitting by me as I write this post, tells me, "I'd like to see him run."  Oh yes, Lucy, you would.  It is a sight to behold. There is nothing more beautiful than watching a runner race through the air.   Just look at these up and coming runners:



Crash is a great read for any runner.  If you have read Stargirl, or Wringer you will already know that Jerry Spinelli can create a character that is completely believable and a world that is too.

Crash gets his nickname when he is very young, not even in Kindergarten yet.  He is wearing his new Christmas present, a football helmet, when his Uncle and his family arrive for a visit.  As the door opens he runs full tilt, head down into his little cousin Rachel, knocks her off the porch and into the snow.  He has been Crash ever since. And he lives up to his name.

One summer Penn Webb moves into the neighborhood.  A small wiry boy with a never ending smile and a love for running.  Unlike Crash, he does not crash into anything, even when Crash crashes into him.  He is a Quaker and he just stands and lets the water drip from his face as Crash taunts him and urges him to pick up his squirt gun and fight back. 

The story follows Crash and Penn through their school years until seventh grade, when Crash and Penn find themselves running a race that really matters and changes both their lives. 

As the race is about to begin Crash relates: 

"I got down, feet in the block, right knee on the track, thumbs and forefingers on the chalk, eyes straight down--and right then for the first time in my life, I didn't know if I wanted to win." 

Crash

A story about running and grandfathers, and kindness. 

Read it this summer.