A Child Performs Stage Magic Students often have a remarkable
ability to create versions of themselves that may differ from
the way their teachers see them. Credit: Getty Images In this
fiction excerpt from Ms. Hempel Chronicles, by Sarah Shun-lien
Bynum, middle school student Harriet Reznik, aided by the magic
of the stage, surprises her audience -- and her teacher, Ms.
Hempel -- with her knowledge and confidence, using her moment in
the spotlight to find her place in the sun. Ms. Hempel
Chronicles By Sarah Shun-lien Bynum Harcourt Publishing Company
* * * Harriet now took the stage. Her cape wafted behind her as
she guided her little card table into the spotlight. Harriet
Reznik, precious artifact of another age! Her thick, swingy
helmet of hair, the bangs that look as if they had been cut with
the help of a ruler. Her clanging lunch box. Her indifference to
television. Her adventure books, whose child heroes discovered
buried treasure and tumbled down waterfalls and toppled
tyrannical governments. Her stor