the PaperWings

"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 ...

As teachers and parents, we know that our number one goal is to get books into our children's hands. But it's not that easy. The stars must align: we have to get The Right Book at The Right Time into The Right Child's hands. Eek. How to? The Right Book Helping a child find the right book is a giant exercise in being open-minded. Remember that they have been on this earth for a short time compared to us "wise ones" and so they have not yet had the chance to purge themselves of the need for slap stick humor, utterly predictable plots, flat characters, and yes, I'm going to say it: potty jokes. Before you faint, let me just say that I am not condoning mediocre literature at all. If I think a child will bite, I will offer Charlotte's Web first every time over Captain Underpants. But remember that reading is a habit. Like any habit, it's got to form before it can be molded. It's the job of the literate adults on a child's life to match them with...

Not shelf after shelf piled with books, spines facing out Not row after row of color-coordinated tupperware bins Not a book display that has housed the same books for two months The problem is, you know what you don't want in a library. (See above list) You do want a library that kids will clamor to enter and beg you to visit instead of recess or snack time or puppies and rainbows. In short, you want your library to be simply dreamy. That's all you're asking. But seriously- building a classroom or home library that will entice your child to read and keep him/her motivated long-term can be a daunting task. If it's done right, you will not only be burning tons of brain power deciding what kinds of books to include or how many to include or how to organize them (although those are all important considerations), but what the library conveys. Does it say, "Come in- This library is the same today as when you first visited (and also when your little brother was...