Michelle Whitaker Winfrey
Illustrated by: Joyce M. Turley
On Saturday, February 29, Miles will be celebrating his birthday. Will he be eight or will he be just two? Warren F. White Jr., who has worked in the public school system for over 30 years as a public school teacher, guidance counselor, vice principle and now principle of a large urban middle school, writes: In the book, It's My Birthday... Finally! A Leap Year Story the reader meets eight year old Miles who was born on February 29. Miles' family, friends and classmates approach this special birthday celebration from two very different points of view and their teacher seizes the moment. The children's teacher Mrs. Garcia is a caring, compassionate person. She recognizes the hurt on Miles' face when being teased by his classmates. They say he is two years old and not eight like the rest of the class! Mrs. Garcia grasps this opportunity to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative by capitalizing on the students' natural curiosity. She skillfully redirects their enthusiasm. Drawing on history, mathematics and mythology to investigate the origins of Leap Year, Mrs. Garcia exposes her students to a lesson in life. The author creates a humanistic approach throughout the story. The reader learns a very valuable lesson; celebrate uniqueness, a great way to approach life!