Good Books Teach, Reach Far and Wide

Image from Smithsonian article on Lacks. 

My fourth-grader is fascinated, nearly to the point of obsession (which is totally normal for a fourth-grader) with Guinness World Records. Ask any librarian; the books are hot-hot-hot in the children's department.

I'll admit I've become a little jaded re: his litany of mosts, bests, firsts, tallests, etc, etc. When he started telling me about the oldest cells in the world, however, I snapped to attention.

I knew he was talking about Henrietta Lacks. And the cool thing is, he knew it too. He remembered my reaction when I read Rebecca Skloot's excellent report on Lacks' amazing, sometimes horrifying medical history. Lacks died in 1959. Her cells are still alive.

My son made a connection. Whether I can credit Guinness or Skloot is unclear. But the connection is undeniable.

My point, of course, is reading that reading is AWESOME. And if you haven't read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, you really should.