Jason's Secret
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
"Hey, Jason!" Jason was surprised to hear someone’s voice. He hadn’t noticed anyone else walking to school. He turned and saw Ben running toward him. "Hi!" Ben gasped. He was out of breath but so excited to be with Jason he kept talking. "I didn’t know you lived around here!" "We-we live on Elm just two blocks over," Jason gestured to his right. "I live on Amherst, 4811, the block north of here. Just around the corner." "Gr-great!" Jason exclaimed. He wondered, though, why he hadn’t noticed Ben in the neighborhood last weekend when he rode his bike exploring. But that really didn’t matter now. He was glad that Ben lived nearby. "Did you watch the baseball game on T.V. last night?" Ben asked. "Sterling Grant. He’s my favorite. I’d like to hit like that." Ben suddenly stopped and dropped his books. He grabbed a long branch lying next to the road, and, holding it like a baseball bat, he took an imaginary swing. He swivelled his hips in a wide arc, following through nicely with his head held level with the ground until the very last moment. Then he looked up and far into the distance. "Home run!" he shouted. "For sure," Jason replied, continuing to walk. "Three-thousand hits in his career," Ben said bending over to grab his books. "And a great fielder. Did you see that catch in the ninth inning?" "Yeah," Jason said even though he hadn’t watched the game. He spent the evening in his room working on his gambit. "Real cool diving like that and sliding forward on his stomach, maybe 10 feet or more!" Ben continued hurrying to keep up with Jason. "Yeah," Jason responded trying to show some interest. "Want to play baseball after school?" Ben asked. "Sh-shure," Jason replied. "Great! We can play in the field behind my house. Just you and me." "Oh, okay!" Jason wondered whether he’d be able to do that, today anyway. He was supposed to ask Belle before he went anywhere. And he might have homework. But he didn’t want to say "No" to Ben. He liked him. He’d smooth things over later with Ben if he had to. "You like Millville?" Ben asked as they crossed Lexington Boulevard at the light and walked onto MacAllister’s playground. "Yeah. It’s okay," Jason answered. "I . . .," Ben suddenly stopped talking. "Over here," he shouted, running toward the fifth grade door. Jason ran to catch up. "See that?" Ben asked, pointing to the ledge above the entrance. Three hungry baby birds filled a tight, cramped nest. They spread their beaks wide open for what the mother bird offered as she sat on the rim. They squawked loudly even when devouring the grubs she packed into their throats. "Weird," Jason muttered, standing as close to the nest as he dared without frightening the mother bird. "They’re robins. Robins usually nest in trees and shrubs." "Yeah," Ben replied knowingly. He, too, stared at the robin family having breakfast above their heads. "Whad-dah-yah looking at?" Pig-Face asked. He was rushing over to where Jason and Ben were standing. He pushed his face into Jason’s. "Ain’t you never seen birds before?" "Look at those two idiots staring at some stupid birds!" he shouted, waving his arms towards Jason and Ben and then toward the birds. He called out to everyone standing around the door and to no one in particular. "Yeah," someone shouted at Jason and Ben. "See something special? Maybe you should call Channel 4. Tell them the news!" "Yeah," Pig-Face added, grunting, "Maybe youse two could be on T.V." The rest of the group huddled near the door totally ignored Pig-Face and his taunting. But Jason got madder and madder. "Thu-thuh-thuh-they’re-they’re not stupid?" he shouted at Pig-Face while raising his shoulders and holding his hands that had turned into fists tight along his sides. "Not stupid? Hah! You know what stupid is? You’re stupid. Can’t even talk, Bird-Boy. Can’t even say your name," Pig-Face sneered. Jason started breathing fast and raised his fists. Uncle David taught him "the manly art of self defense." Now was a great time to use it. He considered throwing just a right upper-cut to finish him off fast. He didn’t want to prolong the situation. Just one good punch thrown squarely into his thick face should do it. Send him down on his butt. That’ll teach him to lay off! Jason raised his arms. Left arm straight out across his left ear. Right arm cocked to unfurl the crushing blow.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Jason Loring felt like an alien. His classmates avoided him and called him names. His stepbrother, Robbie, teased him. His father and stepmother didn’t listen to him. Now he was starting fifth grade at a new school. He hoped that this time, this one time, he would just fit in. He was smart. He looked OK. He was good at chess. But whenever he opened his mouth, he never knew whether IT would happen, and he would look and sound like a freak. That was the problem. A big problem! And it made him angry. Very angry! He had to learn to cool it, and he had to learn that fast! What happens at the new school, why his father shares his secret, and how Jason changes leads to acceptance at last.
About the Author
Ellen-Marie Silverman knows a lot about stuttering. She has had the problem herself and became a speech-language pathologist to help herself and others. She has published her research in professional journals and textbooks and has been a therapist for many years. All of this encouraged her to write a book for children because books about people overcoming their problems greatly helped her have hope when she was a child. She hopes Jason’s Secret opens the door to more thoughtful communicating with one another. Dr. Silverman was elected a Fellow of the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association. She is a member of Sigma Xi, the national honorary research organization, and Delta Kappa Gamma, international honorary society for women in education. She is listed in American Men and Women of Science, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in America among other such references. Dr. Silverman has authored or co-authored more than 30 scientific articles published in professional journals, two textbook chapters, and one college textbook. She has been a professor and taught at several universities in the United States. Currently, she owns and operates an interpreter and translator agency located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and continues to advise parents of young children about the development of fluency and the prevention of stuttering problems. She has been greatly aided in her efforts to write this book by the company of her two cats, Muffin and Mittens, and the long walks shared with her Basenji- mix dog, Hansom. She is a self-taught artist who paints in watercolor and oil as a pastime and has exhibited her work.