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[CCBC-Net] Reluctant Readers, Reading lists and so on
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From: Steward, Celeste <csteward>
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 11:35:53 -0700
Amy--I agree with you about knowing the reluctant reader. I find it so frustrating to help the parent who says their child hates to read--and can I point them in the right direction? And the child is nowhere to be seen--they are home, playing soccer, doing whatever, anywhere but standing in front of me!
I can steer a child to a potential good book if I can talk to them! Knowing them would be even better but that's where the teacher has a definite advantage over the public librarians.
I love theater too...maybe that's why I can listen to what I consider a so-so book and come away wowed by the performance and the story.
Celeste Steward
Collection Development Librarian, Children's Services Alameda County Library 2400 Stevenson Blvd. Fremont, CA 94538
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Amy Carlson Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 11:14 AM To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Reluctant Readers, Reading lists and so on
Thought I would chime in with a few thoughts. First off, I'm a story addict. I am a reader but I love theatre and movies as well. For me the story comes first. Actually it comes first, last, and all the way through.
I can appreciate good prose as long as it puts me there, makes me feel, makes me smell, makes me believe the story.
In my opinion reading should be all about the STORY. Not what level the book is written at and not how literary the critics consider the book. If the reader isn't touched by the story then the book isn't working. Period.
Some people are touched by Shakespeare, some people find him incomprehensible.
Some people are delighted by Captain Underpants, some people are revolted.
People all over the world love the book The Alchemist, people here in the US are somewhat ambivalent.
Picking a book for a person is like choosing a gift. You have to know that person.
I have a 9 year old who has a high IQ and dyslexia. He loves good stories and will listen to me read until my voice gives out, but reading is very hard for him. Reading out loud is pure torture. His third grade teacher found the perfect book for him, a book he loved, a book I didn't know existed. Reading that book was the first time I ever saw him choose to read with no compulsion other than the desire to finish the story. The book was "The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty" by Ellen Emerson White.
The teacher gave him that book after teaching him for five months. Five months of seeing him day in and day out. Then she knew him well enough to point him in the right direction.
How do you coax a reluctant reader? Find the story that fires their imagination. I say you have to know the reader first before you will know whether to recommend monster alien toilets (Captain Underpants) or a magical spring that will make you immortal (Tuck Everlasting.)
Last thoughts - For the most part and from my experience (with some joyful exceptions) I don't think schools produce pleasure readers, they primarily produce performance readers. And I believe that is their mandate.
Public Libraries and good bookstores produce pleasure readers. And for that I am ever so grateful that they are out there.
Just looking for a good story, Amy Carlson
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Received on Tue 08 Aug 2006 01:35:53 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 11:35:53 -0700
Amy--I agree with you about knowing the reluctant reader. I find it so frustrating to help the parent who says their child hates to read--and can I point them in the right direction? And the child is nowhere to be seen--they are home, playing soccer, doing whatever, anywhere but standing in front of me!
I can steer a child to a potential good book if I can talk to them! Knowing them would be even better but that's where the teacher has a definite advantage over the public librarians.
I love theater too...maybe that's why I can listen to what I consider a so-so book and come away wowed by the performance and the story.
Celeste Steward
Collection Development Librarian, Children's Services Alameda County Library 2400 Stevenson Blvd. Fremont, CA 94538
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Amy Carlson Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 11:14 AM To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Reluctant Readers, Reading lists and so on
Thought I would chime in with a few thoughts. First off, I'm a story addict. I am a reader but I love theatre and movies as well. For me the story comes first. Actually it comes first, last, and all the way through.
I can appreciate good prose as long as it puts me there, makes me feel, makes me smell, makes me believe the story.
In my opinion reading should be all about the STORY. Not what level the book is written at and not how literary the critics consider the book. If the reader isn't touched by the story then the book isn't working. Period.
Some people are touched by Shakespeare, some people find him incomprehensible.
Some people are delighted by Captain Underpants, some people are revolted.
People all over the world love the book The Alchemist, people here in the US are somewhat ambivalent.
Picking a book for a person is like choosing a gift. You have to know that person.
I have a 9 year old who has a high IQ and dyslexia. He loves good stories and will listen to me read until my voice gives out, but reading is very hard for him. Reading out loud is pure torture. His third grade teacher found the perfect book for him, a book he loved, a book I didn't know existed. Reading that book was the first time I ever saw him choose to read with no compulsion other than the desire to finish the story. The book was "The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty" by Ellen Emerson White.
The teacher gave him that book after teaching him for five months. Five months of seeing him day in and day out. Then she knew him well enough to point him in the right direction.
How do you coax a reluctant reader? Find the story that fires their imagination. I say you have to know the reader first before you will know whether to recommend monster alien toilets (Captain Underpants) or a magical spring that will make you immortal (Tuck Everlasting.)
Last thoughts - For the most part and from my experience (with some joyful exceptions) I don't think schools produce pleasure readers, they primarily produce performance readers. And I believe that is their mandate.
Public Libraries and good bookstores produce pleasure readers. And for that I am ever so grateful that they are out there.
Just looking for a good story, Amy Carlson
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Tue 08 Aug 2006 01:35:53 PM CDT
