No matter your age, reading The Jester Has Lost His Jingle with kids turns into a fun-filled time.
Whether you’re 4 or 40 or any number before or after, David Saltzman’s picture book will populate the room with laughter. Families and educators throughout the country find that The Jester Has Lost His Jingle can turn a quarrelsome day into a fulsome one. And it’s been welcomed online across the country as students do distance learning.
In early March, David Gaston, Charles City Schools Superintendent in Richmond VA, read The Jester Has Lost His Jingle to students who had just begun to shelter at home as a result of Covid19. The Richmond Times-Dispatch featured his reading on Page 1.
Also in March, Principal Greg Moffitt, of Fairmont Charter Elementary, in Vacaville, CA, donned a Jester hat to read David’s story to his students. “It is the perfect book for this time,” he said. He was first introduced to it 20 years ago when he was a high school student in New England. As a member of the Student Leadership Training Program, Principal Moffitt found that The Jester & Pharley played an important part in his life.
In April, Michaela George, a graduate student at the Children’s Literature Centre at Frostburg State University in Maryland, chose The Jester to share with students doing distance learning. “As a child, my grandmother read this wonderful book to me when I would go visit her,” Michaela said. “I asked for it to be read over and over. It’s one of my personal favorites, with a beautiful message of hope and joy. I hope that it helps more children find joy during these difficult days.”
Also in April, Goleta, CA, psychologist Dr. Stephen Watson, an officer of the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, read The Jester online in English and Spanish to families via YouTube. “I want it to bless other lives, as it has mine,” he said.
