With the arrival of colder weather, family gatherings,  and holidays chock-full of tradition like Thanksgiving, November always feels like the perfect time for giving thanks. This year, the devastation left by hurricane Sandy along the East Coast has certainly expedited that feeling, making me especially thankful for what I have. The photographs, video and coverage from the week have been difficult to watch; I have heard horror stories of people who have lost their homes  or loved ones in the storm and I know several people who will need to rebuild their lives from the ground up. While I am incredibly thankful, I also feel reluctant that I do not appreciate how lucky I am on a consistent, year-round basis. We don’t need cornucopias and pumpkin pie, or a massive hurricane for that matter, to be reminded of how we should count our blessings and celebrate the wonderful people who surround us.

That said, I’m happy to introduce a new series on the blog for the month of November. I recently discovered that November is National Role Models Month, so we’d like to take the month to write about the people who inspire us, challenge us to be better people, cheer us up, make us  proud, and therefore earn the title. Maybe they’ve done exceptional, award-winning things or maybe they’re just nice people whose lead we want to follow. You can roll your eyes and call us corny, or you can join us and share who inspires you. Better yet, tell that person and thank them for the example they set.

And we know what you’re thinking: similar to feeling thankful only on Thanksgiving, why just celebrate role models during National Role Models Month? Well as a matter of fact, at Scholastic we highlight our role models every day. We call them Literacy Champions, and they inspire us because they’ve made it their mission to help all kids, no matter where they are, gain access to books. You can find a full list of them and how you can help here.

Stay tuned for our personal role models—we’re looking forward to sharing with you who we look up to and why. So here’s to a new month,a starting over for some, and ok fine, pumpkin pie.