The Matchbox Diary and collections

In 6th grade library class this week we read The Matchbox Diary, written by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline.  The story begins with a young girl looking at all the collections and antiques in her great-grandfather's home. The great-grandfather tells the girl, whom he is meeting for the first time since they live in different countries, to pick something from his collection and he will tell her about it.

She chooses a cigar box full of matchboxes, and each matchbox contains a memento from his life, from his childhood in Italy to the trip overseas to America and the new life he established there.  He collected these special items as a way to remember things about his life, since he wasn't able to read and write and could not keep a written diary.  Students were horrified to hear that the reason he saved an olive pit was because when he was young and there was not much food to eat, his mother would have him suck on an olive pit to curb his hunger.

Students shared what they would keep in a matchbox diary to remember what they were like when they were young.  Hockey pucks, Playbills, newspaper articles, and figurines from Star Wars, Pokemon, and other favorite games and movies were some of their responses.  It was interesting to hear what things they thought would best represent this part of their lives.