Gotta start ’em young ;)

After reading this chapter I’ve learned that children’s book selection is so very important. In order to get children to start habits of a wild reader, they need to be able to enjoy and want to read whatever they are reading. I think that it always starts out the same though—when were not sure what book to read we always go off of recommendations.

Me not being as much of a reader, that is the only way I know how to choose books. I can’t trust just reading the little book flap synopsis or just by looking at the cover. I need to hear what book titles my teachers think are good, or I take notes of when my friends are reading something they say is awesome—and ON TOP of that I still have to check the reviews for all of those books for some extra help on my final decision. I’m always afraid to start a book and not like it and have to ditch it. I just don’t want to feel like I wasted my time and money for no reason.

But, that’s what I absolutely admired about some of these children that Donalyn talked about. There was that one student Shelby that even despite all of the bad reviews and what everyone said about the book Wildwood—and even about her own thoughts on the book…she still stuck with it. She was determined to finish it and give it a chance. Definitely something I could never do. And I thought it was so cute, her comment after finishing the book was “One star, Mrs. Miller. I give it one star because any author who writes a book deserves one star.” Like how cute is that? Which by the way I am trusting her opinion and probably will never read the book Wildwood or recommend it to my kids. Thanks Shelby! (;

Speaking of ditching books, I love how Donalyn had her children make reading lists of all the books they read. I thought that was such a great idea for keeping track of not only the book it was and whether they liked it or not, but keeping track of WHY they chose the book, WHY they liked this book, or WHY they decided to abandon it. I think it’s really important for the students to recognize these things and experiences for their future reading selections. This way they can see the trends of what types, genres, or artists they are interested in.

ALSO—totally stealing the book drawing idea. What a great way to get kids excited about reading. I even started highlighting all of the different titles and artists she mentioned during this chapter so I have some ideas of books to start off with.

Each time I read a new chapter of this book I wish I had a teacher like Mrs. Miller. I think a teacher like her really can impact a child in their reading.

Maybe I would have saw reading as fun instead of a chore.

Maybe I’d be that person that would get lost in books for hours and not want to put it down.

 

That encouragement can make all the difference.