An update on our Samantha




Several weeks ago The Acorn published a letter from Samantha Jones, a sixth-grader from Mishawaka, Ind. who was working on a school project and asked our readers to share what they appreciate most about California.

Samantha received several responses via Facebook, and also this contribution from the Calabasas Library:

Dear Samantha:

We are The Dog Eared Book Club, a book club for grades 6-8 sponsored by the Calabasas Library. We just read “Same Sun Here” by Silas House and Neela Vaswani.

The book is about a Kentucky boy and a New York City girl, who’s just moved from India, and who become pen pals and, consequently, best friends.

We read your letter to The Acorn just days before our last meeting and we thought sending you a response would be the perfect activity for our book discussion.

You asked about what we like about living in California. Here is our short list:

The weather! Warm year round and if you want to play in snow you can drive two hours to the mountains.

We live in the “entertainment capital of the world.” This means the occasional celebrity sighting, as well as seeing plenty of movie and television productions throughout our neighborhoods.

The beach and the ocean!

People are more health and environmentally conscious. Calabasas was the first city in the country to ban smoking in public places. The City of Calabasas also banned the use of single-use carry-out plastic bags.

Cultural diversity. People visit and move here from all over the country and the world. It truly is a global community. There is constant exposure to different cultural traditions, religions, languages, clothing and food. Diversity creates an atmosphere that’s vibrant, and constantly changing.

Samantha, we would love to hear more about the book you’re doing your project on and what you love about living in Indiana. Please let us know if we can provide you with any other insights about California.

Best wishes from the Dog Eared Book Club.

Marcy Bowen

Calabasas Library



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