31 Flavors of reading

Instructor, May-June, 2004 by Liza Charlesworth

Summer is just around the corner, conjuring up images of cloudless afternoons, the clink of ice in a tall lemonade, and warm breezes riffling the dog-eared pages of a favorite book. As the end of the school year draws near, Instructor is pleased to share our biggest book issue ever--packed with pages of old and new classics, inspirational ideas, and jump-starters for professional growth. In "31 Flavors of Reading," we serve up a tantalizing array of mouth watering genres to sample, from eye-popping picture books to off-kilter fairy tales. "Fabulous, Fascinating Fact Books" shows how to capitalize on the powerful motivational force of informational texts--and get kids to pen their own! In "Thumbs Up?", enlist students as reviewers for your classroom library, and encourage them to reflect on the books that moved and thrilled them over the year. And for you, the well-earned respite from the classroom can provide an ideal opportunity to peruse new professional books for ideas. Find a teacher-tested list in "Fresh Summer Reads." Enjoy!

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Ahhh, nothing compares to the pleasure of getting lost in literature. "When I used to read The Incredible Journey aloud," says Jeffrey Wilhelm, expert in reading comprehension, "the room would be silent and kids' eyes would just be glistening." That "glistening" told him that children were in the imagination zone. Their minds were off in an amazing place-detailed, alive, intriguing, Technicolor! No question, reading is among the most exhilarating of all human endeavors. Have your students sampled every genre on the menu?

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1 APPETIZING ALPHABET BOOKS: Alphabet books aren't just for the PreK crowd! Alphabet Mystery, by Audrey Wood (Scholastic, 2003) is an inspired selection for any age group. In it, the letters of the alphabet--each with a distinct personality--get worried when little x disappears. Use this title with your young learners to boost phonemic awareness, or use it with older kids as a model for generating imaginative story ideas. (For more titles in each category, visit www.scholastic.com/instructor.)

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2 BOOKS WITH SPICY CHARACTERS: It's essential for kids to encounter a variety of characters with real flaws and foibles, such as the mischievous lead in No, David!, by David Shannon (Scholastic, 1998) or, for older kids, the ever-curious Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh (Yearling, 2001). Both books present offbeat, imperfect characters who are sure to spark important conversation about right, wrong, and what's in-between.

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3 REFRESHING BOOKS ABOUT COURAGE: Just as it's important to show kids examples of not-so-perfect protagonists, it's equally essential to expose them to bona-fide role models. Characters with courage have the power to inspire greatness. A winning example is Teammates, by Peter Golenbock (Harcourt, 1990), about African-American baseball player Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese, his friend and teammate who stood up for what was right.

4 COOL COMIC BOOKS: Although sometimes given a bad rap, comic-style and graphic novels are a great motivator for kids who tend to get a bit intimidated by page upon page of neatly stacked sentences. Pictures give them a welcome respite from all those words, as well as visual cues for interpreting the text. In the Amelia's Notebook series, by Marissa Moss (Pleasant Company), Amelia draws and writes diary entries about the ups and downs of her nine-year-old existence. Boys will love the super-silly Captain Underpants series, by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic). Truth is, crunchy under-pants are pretty funny--not to mention a great incentive to turn the page!

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5 "OLDEN DAY" BOOKS: As a kid, my brother's favorite book was Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater (Little, Brown, 1938). I adored Betsy-Tacy, by Maud Hart Lovelace (HarperCollins, 1979), a "best friends" book long before Lizzie McGuire. Did these books feel dated? Yes, and that was the point. We loved reading about earlier generations to see just how different--and surprisingly similar--their lives were to ours. No doubt, some of your students will relish these authentic gems of yesteryear, too.

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6 EYE-POPPING PICTURE BOOKS: Ever happen upon a book with illustrations so gloriously vibrant you had to do a double take? No question, a story's words are important, but so are its pictures. Last year, a friend gave my twin sons Janell Cannon's Crickwing (Harcourt, 2000) for their birthday. Granted, the story about a cockroach that plays with its food is pretty cool, but it doesn't hold a candle to the dazzling, eye-popping, how-the-heck-did-she-do-it renderings of carpenter ants, lizards, and leopards. Wow! (I sneak the book off the shelf every now and again just to take a peek.)

7 POP-UP SURPRISES: Who says touchy-feely books are just for babies? Pop-up books have the power to captivate older kids, too, by breathing kinesthetic life into all sorts of topics--including geography. Pull out The Amazing Pop-Up Geography Book, by Kate Petty (Dutton, 2000), and watch students touch, twist, turn, and take a tour around the fascinating features of our decidedly 3-D planet.