I agree that people should read what they enjoy. Just because a book has won an award does not mean it is good for everyone. In fact, as an elementary librarian I am really frustrated with the recent Newbery Award winners (just the last 3 years). They just aren’t books that I can recommend to most kids. I think they are books that adults appreciate more than children. At my library, Walter the Farting Dog, Captain Underpants, and Goosebumps are very popular. I don’t personally like Goosebumps, but if the kids are reading that is what counts.

I feel the same with my own kids. While I was traveling I bought them books I knew they would enjoy: “Aliens Love Underpants,” “Fart Club,” and “Ter-Moo-Nators.” Not great literature by any means, but very appealing to boys. Anything to get them reading!

Christen, thank you for your report, and especially thank you for maintaining the Cone of Silence on any details!

I have a friend who taught high school English for many years, and she’d read aloud the first chapter of Great Expectations just to show the kids how exciting and dramatic it was. They got over the fact that it was such a thick book, and just looked forward to each new chapter.

Love teachers who make it their business to excite kids about books and reading!

I was an elementary classroom teacher for more than three decades and later a school librarian. As an educator, I introduced my students to all genres and to the works of many different authors and illustrators–to books that had kids rolling on the floor with laughter–books like Pinkwater’s FAT MEN FROM SPACE and Palatini’s PIGGIE PIE–as well as books considered to have true literary merit. I think the best thing to do is to open children’s minds to the diversity in the world of literature in hopes that children will find the kinds of books that they enjoy reading…in hopes that they’ll find authors whose books speak to them.

There are lots of great books that don’t win awards. One of my favorite books of all time is Beverly Cleary’s RAMONA THE PEST. It was the first chapter book I read to my students every year. My students loved and identified with Ramona. They would rush in from recess to hear me read a chapter in RAMONA THE PEST as well as other books about that spunky heroine.

Jen, I have that same feeling about wanting to read HP as quickly as possible before anyone ruins it for me. Even though I have work that just has to get done, I know I’ll be very tempted to spend my own 8 hours reading it straight through just like you. We’ll see.

And good for you, feeding your little bro’s hunger for illustrated classics. What a nice big sister.

2. I used to teach art to middle school kids and they all walked into that class announcing that they couldn’t draw and no one could possibly make them an artists and, oh, by the way, how are you gonna grade us?

This is relevant to reading in that almost all the students I taught had their heyday of art back in kindergarten and first grade when the majority of them showed promise and creative expression. By second grade formal art history and instruction was tossed by the wayside and they lost their creative spark, their ability to see themselves as creative people with individual ideas, and became hostile to the subject. Imagine if we treated reading the same way, how would a child feel about reading by the time they hit middle school if it were tossed aside at an early age?

Sounds like I’m making a case for art in the classroom (which I always am) but the idea is that we keep giving kids reading because they will grow reading muscles and become strong readers. If we tell them that only certain books are good (just as only talented people can be artists, only certain works of art are “good, and other great lies) then we teach them the idea that a vast majority of books can be ignored without a thorough understanding of personal tastes and the ability to discern for themselves what constitutes “good” in their own eyes.

Basically, I feel anyone who suggests that we should be steering kids toward “classics” and away from the pleasure of pleasure reading is, in essence, in favor of top-down censorship and probably swallows every word that comes out of a government official’s mouth regardless of niggling little things like facts and truth.

Short version: let kids read whatever they want and as much as they want and they’ll learn to think for themselves; tell them what to read and you’re creating an ignorant society of sheep who can be told to do anything without question or thought.

That’s how I feel at least.

I want to read Adrienne’s book on this topic (reading advocacy, etc.).

I went to a local independent bookstore on Saturday morning to get the book. I enjoyed seeing the activities that they were doing, the people in costumes, etc. But I didn’t stay, because I wanted to get home to read the book. I pretty much lay on my couch for 8 hours reading, until I had finished it. I’ll say no more, maintaining that cone of silence. But I’m relieved to be finished, so that I don’t have to worry about anyone else spoiling it for me.