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Read Alouds
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From: t.m.johnsen at att.net <t.m.johnsen>
Date: Fri, 06 Aug 2004 01:05:20 +0000
I am glad to see the enthusiastic response to favorite read alouds. I still remember Ezra Jack Keats "The Snowy Day" - the first book I ever bought from the weekly reader book club after it was read aloud by Mrs. Viggiano in 1st Grade.
I also remember listening to Captain Kangaroo read "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" - but I don't know if that gets disqualified because not only was I listening, but I was watching it TV!
I have spent time in our local elementary school reading aloud. I get a lot of surprised looks that a Dad has come to class to read picture books - even some surprise from the female teachers. As a longtime Newbery and Caldecott reader and collector, and
sometime children's literature student, I like a lot of stuff and like to share it in classes. But sometimes you have to be careful - I responded to my daughter's request that I bring in a couple of her personal favorites - McCloskey's
"Blueberries For Sal", for one - who can forget "kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk" - to read in her class. Absentmindedly I tucked in "They Were Strong and Good" - I had a devil of a time convincing the teacher that I wasn't a white racist who brought in books that described
people owning slaves as good people.
I get some of my most enthusiastic response from wordless or nearly wordless books -
"Sector 7" and "Tuesday" by Weisner are great, as is "The Silver Pony" by Lynd Ward
(if you skip the corporal punishment part - lot of creative page-flipping, here).
I remember always being mesmerized by "Little Black Sambo" - until, regrettably, white culture appropriated the terms and obscured a truly wonderful story - I am so glad to see Lester's "Sam and the Tigers" reclaim this folktale.
The most fun read loud I've ever done was "Where the Wild Things Are" - I still think the rest of school is after me after I encouraged the kindergarten class to
"let the wild rumpus start." After this affected the class next store and the first grade ne xt to them - finally everything settled down in twenty minutes or so and I was thanked (by the principal, no less) for my "enthusiastic reading."
Finally, Waddell's "Owl Babies" is probably my daughter's favorite - I would have to read it 10 or 12 times before she would be satisfied (or sleepy enough) to let me stop. I can still hear myself (in my best grandmotherly falsetto ask "What's all the fu ss?" She still pulls it off the shelf and she'll be a 7th grader this fall.
Great Fun!
Terry Johnsen
Received on Thu 05 Aug 2004 08:05:20 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 06 Aug 2004 01:05:20 +0000
I am glad to see the enthusiastic response to favorite read alouds. I still remember Ezra Jack Keats "The Snowy Day" - the first book I ever bought from the weekly reader book club after it was read aloud by Mrs. Viggiano in 1st Grade.
I also remember listening to Captain Kangaroo read "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" - but I don't know if that gets disqualified because not only was I listening, but I was watching it TV!
I have spent time in our local elementary school reading aloud. I get a lot of surprised looks that a Dad has come to class to read picture books - even some surprise from the female teachers. As a longtime Newbery and Caldecott reader and collector, and
sometime children's literature student, I like a lot of stuff and like to share it in classes. But sometimes you have to be careful - I responded to my daughter's request that I bring in a couple of her personal favorites - McCloskey's
"Blueberries For Sal", for one - who can forget "kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk" - to read in her class. Absentmindedly I tucked in "They Were Strong and Good" - I had a devil of a time convincing the teacher that I wasn't a white racist who brought in books that described
people owning slaves as good people.
I get some of my most enthusiastic response from wordless or nearly wordless books -
"Sector 7" and "Tuesday" by Weisner are great, as is "The Silver Pony" by Lynd Ward
(if you skip the corporal punishment part - lot of creative page-flipping, here).
I remember always being mesmerized by "Little Black Sambo" - until, regrettably, white culture appropriated the terms and obscured a truly wonderful story - I am so glad to see Lester's "Sam and the Tigers" reclaim this folktale.
The most fun read loud I've ever done was "Where the Wild Things Are" - I still think the rest of school is after me after I encouraged the kindergarten class to
"let the wild rumpus start." After this affected the class next store and the first grade ne xt to them - finally everything settled down in twenty minutes or so and I was thanked (by the principal, no less) for my "enthusiastic reading."
Finally, Waddell's "Owl Babies" is probably my daughter's favorite - I would have to read it 10 or 12 times before she would be satisfied (or sleepy enough) to let me stop. I can still hear myself (in my best grandmotherly falsetto ask "What's all the fu ss?" She still pulls it off the shelf and she'll be a 7th grader this fall.
Great Fun!
Terry Johnsen
Received on Thu 05 Aug 2004 08:05:20 PM CDT
