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Sandra White
Canton Post is Ms. Post, the crossing guard’s, son. He sits against the stop sign while she works every afternoon, doing his homework and holding a broom head in his lap. This is because last year, Ms. Post ran into the street after a boy who ran in front of a bus and was injured—and Canton began experiencing panic attacks about his mom dying. Mr. Munch, the custodian, turned the broom head into a pretend emotional support dog by drawing eyes and a mouth and gluing ears on it. In the year before “The Broom Dog” takes place, Canton has mostly gotten over his anxiety surrounding his mom dying. Indeed, he seems ready to give up the broom dog altogether when his story ends.
Canton Post Quotes in Look Both Ways
The Look Both Ways quotes below are all either spoken by Canton Post or refer to Canton Post. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
10. The Broom Dog Quotes
“It’s…a…broom.”
“But I cleaned it. Promise. And yeah, it’s a broom, until you do this.” He petted the wiry twine as if it were fur. As if he were scratching behind the ear of a Yorkie in desperate need of grooming. The straw popped back up when he was done, just like a dog’s would.
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The day after Ms. Post returns to work after being hit by a bus, Mr. Munch presents Canton—who had a panic attack yesterday out of fear that his mom would be killed—with a pretend emotional support dog. The dog is made from a broom head, which is why Canton is so confused. He looks at the object and sees a broom, not a dog that’s going to help him get over his fears. Mr. Munch, though, encourages Canton to use his imagination and see the dog as a potential friend. The broom, he demonstrates, mimics perfectly the texture of some Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt
Canton shrugged, tossed it up in the air. Caught it. Tossed it again. Caught it. Again, and loose straw separated from the bunch. Again. And more loose straw, falling down on them. And more. Ms. Post laughed. “Look at that. A school bus falling from the sky.”
Canton smiled, knowing a school bus is many things.
So is a walk home.
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Once Ms. Post’s shift as a crossing guard is over, she and Canton walk home. Canton is tossing his pretend emotional support dog in the sky; he and Ms. Post are beginning to think he no longer needs it to feel secure. Ms. Post has also suggested that the broom dog now looks a bit like a school bus. As Canton tosses the broom head into the sky, a school bus falls from the sky, just as the narrator in “Water Booger Bears” said it did. But it’s not actually a school bus that falls from the sky—as this passage Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repe
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Canton Post Character Timeline in Look Both Ways
The timeline below shows where the character Canton Post appears in Look Both Ways. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
4. How to Look (Both) Both Ways
...about 84 steps to the corner, the crossing guard, Ms. Post, greets Fatima. Her son, Canton, is sitting at the stop sign with a broom with no broomstick—which is weird, but...
(full context)
6. Five Things Easier to Do than Simeon and Kenzi’s Secret Handshake
...says he’s going home to do his homework. He tells Ms. Post that her son, Canton, has homework too. Canton ignores Simeon; he’s used to Simeon’s antics.
(full context)
10. The Broom Dog
Canton has heard kids talk about their wondrous journeys to and from school on the school...
(full context)
Canton thought that until a year ago, when a blue ball bounced into the street and...
(full context)
This was devastating for Canton. He usually helped the custodian, Mr. Munch, clean things after school (though mostly, Canton just...
(full context)
...returns to work a week later, normal except for the sling on her shoulder. But Canton can’t go back to normal. Mr. Munch finds Canton in the bathroom that afternoon, sitting...
(full context)
Mr. Munch meets Canton outside his last class the next day and invites Canton to walk with him. As...
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Inside the office-sized closet, Mr. Munch shows Canton pictures of Zena, Winnie, and the dog, which is so ugly it’s cute. Canton thinks...
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...and Mr. Munch has drawn eyes, a mouth, and then glued dustcloth ears on top. Canton says it’s a broom, but Mr. Munch assures Canton he cleaned it. Canton is confused...
(full context)
It’s been a year since Mr. Munch gave Dusty to Canton, and a year since Canton had his first panic attack. Things are better now. Now,...
(full context)
...just pulling on her vest and putting her whistle lanyard over her neck. She hugs Canton, asks how school was, and asks if he has homework. He explains Ms. Broome’s assignment...
(full context)
Canton makes notes of all the things he sees, including Portal Avenue, Ms. Post, cars, people...
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...when all the kids have gone home, Ms. Post takes off her vest and asks Canton if he’s ready to go. Canton stands and Dusty falls from his lap—he forgot the...
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Ms. Post asks Canton if he still wants the broom dog. Shrugging, Canton tosses the broom dog into the...
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