"Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens ..." ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon
WARNING: This blog contains my strong opinion concerning reading good, challenging literature to young children. If you are stuck on only reading aloud #1-20 of Junie B. Jones and Horrible Harry, you should stop reading here.
When I taught first grade, I routinely read aloud Charlotte's Web. Every year, as I began the book anew, I would at first forget what a cumbersome beginning that book is for young children. If you haven't read it in a while, I'll remind you that Charlotte doesn't even write for the first time in her web ("Some Pig") until the middle of the book! The whole first half is descriptions, character development, and anecdotes. On the year the movie came out, I read it earlier in the year than usual so that I could take my class to see the movie. Even though we weren't finished with the book on the day before winter break, I still gave a copy to each student as a gift. I would have never guessed their reaction!
I read them the bookmark that was attached to the wrapped gift: "May you grow into this book and open it again and again many times throughout your life." I explained to them that it wasn't "just right" but that it was more special than most books because every time they read it, it would mean something different to them. With that, I let them tear in to the paper--
"C H A R L O T T E ' S WEEEEEEB!!!!!" rang out all over the room. I am not exaggerating when I say that as some kids waved it over their heads, while others hugged each other and the book, jumping up and down. It took minutes before they calmed down enough to move onto the party games. THINK: Oprah's Favorite Things. ;-)
The thing about reading aloud powerful novels is that it becomes so much more about a community bonding experience than about listening to words on a page. As each child gets attached to the characters and setting of the book, they also bond with each other, knowing that when that book opens, all listeners will smell the hay in the barn, sigh at the same times, laugh at the goose, and wonder with Wilbur.
So often we short-change young children. We think they aren't capable of understanding long, winding stories. We way underestimate their capacity for empathy. We don't give them any credit for the amount of inferring and predicting they are able to do in order to monitor their understanding of an orally told story.
Some people will not agree-- but I say put away the Junie B. Jones. I promise that every would-be Junie fan will find his or her way to those books without a read aloud. Put away the Magic Tree House. The marketing alone and the positioning of the popular series on the Barnes and Nobles shelves will draw readers to them.
Reading classic children's literature and well-written novels is more work for the listener and much more draining for the reader. It takes more work because the characters are well-developed and three dimensional. The author has hidden bits of wisdom throughtout the book that can't possibly be uncovered in one reading. These kinds of books grow with the reader. Each time I read Charlotte's Web, it speaks to me in a different way.
You can't expect children to sit with rapt attention the entire way through, and you can't even expect them to understand every twist and turn. But what you and your students WILL get is the gift of true friendship within the pages of the book and the promise that even when they open that book later-- as a fourth grader or as an adult-- those memories and friends will still be waiting for them.
So it's in that way-- the opening again and again and the joyful sharing, that I believe some special books have a soul within their pages. And since the time I have with each group of children is short, THOSE will be the books I read.
WARNING: This blog contains my strong opinion concerning reading good, challenging literature to young children. If you are stuck on only reading aloud #1-20 of Junie B. Jones and Horrible Harry, you should stop reading here.
When I taught first grade, I routinely read aloud Charlotte's Web. Every year, as I began the book anew, I would at first forget what a cumbersome beginning that book is for young children. If you haven't read it in a while, I'll remind you that Charlotte doesn't even write for the first time in her web ("Some Pig") until the middle of the book! The whole first half is descriptions, character development, and anecdotes. On the year the movie came out, I read it earlier in the year than usual so that I could take my class to see the movie. Even though we weren't finished with the book on the day before winter break, I still gave a copy to each student as a gift. I would have never guessed their reaction!
I read them the bookmark that was attached to the wrapped gift: "May you grow into this book and open it again and again many times throughout your life." I explained to them that it wasn't "just right" but that it was more special than most books because every time they read it, it would mean something different to them. With that, I let them tear in to the paper--
"C H A R L O T T E ' S WEEEEEEB!!!!!" rang out all over the room. I am not exaggerating when I say that as some kids waved it over their heads, while others hugged each other and the book, jumping up and down. It took minutes before they calmed down enough to move onto the party games. THINK: Oprah's Favorite Things. ;-)
The thing about reading aloud powerful novels is that it becomes so much more about a community bonding experience than about listening to words on a page. As each child gets attached to the characters and setting of the book, they also bond with each other, knowing that when that book opens, all listeners will smell the hay in the barn, sigh at the same times, laugh at the goose, and wonder with Wilbur.
So often we short-change young children. We think they aren't capable of understanding long, winding stories. We way underestimate their capacity for empathy. We don't give them any credit for the amount of inferring and predicting they are able to do in order to monitor their understanding of an orally told story.
Some people will not agree-- but I say put away the Junie B. Jones. I promise that every would-be Junie fan will find his or her way to those books without a read aloud. Put away the Magic Tree House. The marketing alone and the positioning of the popular series on the Barnes and Nobles shelves will draw readers to them.
Reading classic children's literature and well-written novels is more work for the listener and much more draining for the reader. It takes more work because the characters are well-developed and three dimensional. The author has hidden bits of wisdom throughtout the book that can't possibly be uncovered in one reading. These kinds of books grow with the reader. Each time I read Charlotte's Web, it speaks to me in a different way.
You can't expect children to sit with rapt attention the entire way through, and you can't even expect them to understand every twist and turn. But what you and your students WILL get is the gift of true friendship within the pages of the book and the promise that even when they open that book later-- as a fourth grader or as an adult-- those memories and friends will still be waiting for them.
So it's in that way-- the opening again and again and the joyful sharing, that I believe some special books have a soul within their pages. And since the time I have with each group of children is short, THOSE will be the books I read.
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