| There was a group of children in one of the | | | | quiet stories that would have remained in the |
| Seattle schools who came up with an idea. | | | | dark had something bad not happened. A month |
| They wanted to turn sad things into happy | | | | ago, Mary Cooper and her daughter Susanna |
| things, find the positive in the negative. | | | | Stodden went for a hike in the Mount |
| The idea came about because when you are in | | | | Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. They were |
| the third or fourth grade, life can be sweet | | | | found shot to death in a double slaying that |
| one moment, stale candy the next. One of the | | | | convulsed the region. |
| girls in the group, Amy, who just turned 11, | | | | |
| had a beloved pet bunny named Roger who died. | | | | The unsolved murders particularly hit home |
| The loss still smarts.Through their informal | | | | for the children at Decatur AEII Elementary |
| club, Amy and her school pals -- Jasmine, | | | | School in North Seattle because Cooper was |
| Chloe, Hailey, Annie, Madi and Naomi -- would | | | | their librarian, the keeper of their stories, |
| try to turn frowns upside down. The only | | | | a smiling inspirer of their dreams. "Mary in |
| question was how. | | | | the Library" -- as children sweetly |
| | | | christened her -- transformed an ordinary |
| The children thought about it. They decided | | | | place into an extraordinary space. |
| that books would become their tool for making | | | | |
| a difference. School had deepened their love | | | | On a recent afternoon the school's library |
| of books. They respected the power of words | | | | was summertime silent. Atop a wood table sat |
| on the printed page -- no small feat in a | | | | a cardboard box that held three dozen books, |
| television age. Books could offer stories | | | | including one about brainy bunnies and |
| with powerful messages, they knew, and such | | | | another about that mischievous cooking pot. |
| messages could inspire. The girls asked | | | | These were books -- along with "Peter and the |
| people in their neighborhoods as well as the | | | | Starcatchers" and others -- that Cooper had |
| parents of classmates to donate toasters, | | | | on her wish list. |
| baby toys and whatever they could for a big | | | | |
| garage sale the first week of June. They | | | | Her wish came true thanks to Amy, Jasmine, |
| raised $400. | | | | Chloe, Hailey, Annie, Madi and Naomi -- along |
| | | | with everyone who pitched in to help these |
| The girls bought 36 books. They already had a | | | | Decatur students. After the unthinkable |
| home for them inside their elementary school | | | | happened, the girls got together. They |
| library, where one wall features a poster | | | | crafted designs for a bookplate that will go |
| from the 1963 March on Washington and another | | | | inside each of the new books before school |
| bears a photo of the late Coretta Scott King. | | | | starts. The plate has a sun in one corner, a |
| Inspired by a school librarian, they worked | | | | moon in another. It shows an open book with |
| as a team toward a goal. | | | | its front and back covers in view. One cover |
| | | | says "Mary" and the other says "Cooper." Down |
| It is easy to miss such learning that occurs | | | | the spine are three words: "In Memory Of. |
| regularly in the public schools. Budget woes, | | | | Such a worthy tribute is one way a group of |
| school closures and scandals involving high | | | | dedicated children is forging lasting good |
| school hoops teams tend to make for juicier | | | | out of a lingering horror. |
| headlines. The book club is one of those | | | | |