Five minutes before closing yesterday, a young man (4th grade) came up to me and asked, “Do you have any recommendations for me for realistic fiction that’s not depressing? I really liked the last book you recommended to me, The Golly-Whopper Games [by Jody Feldman].”
I pulled the first Phineas MacGuire book for him, Phineas L. MacGuire Erupts!: The First Experiment by Frances O’Roark Dowell, told him that another boy his age had loved it, and sent him on his way.
And then this afternoon he came bouncing up to my desk, “You know that book you got for me? I’m almost done with it – can you get me the next book in the series?” And luckily we had the next two books on the shelf, and I sent him home with both.
Less than 24 hours, with a school day in the middle of those 24 hours, and he’s already almost finished the book and is ready for more. That’s incredibly satisfying to me, the children’s librarian: I managed to put the right book in this child’s hand at the right time. Really, truly, there’s no better feeling.
Holy moly. I have students — COLLEGE students — who say with something that sickeningly resembles pride that they “have never read a book cover to cover.”
Congrats to you, Abby! My main aim, above all others while a teacher, was to instill a love of reading in as many of my kids as possible. It’s always disheartening to come across whole households where no one reads, and if an adult doesn’t read for pleasure, chances are their kids won’t either. I used to start the year (and end it, too) with a readers’ survey including such questions as do your parents like to read, what kinds of things…how many books in your house? So many came back with no, my parents never read, the like TV instead, and other than my little sister’s baby books, we don’t have any. Having grown up such a happy reader, a life without books…well, it’s unimaginable. Keep up your really important work! The world needs people like you, Abs!
I AM incredibly lucky to work in a very, very literate town – one in which 99% of parents really value reading and encourage their children to find joy in reading.
It’s easy to forget how lucky I am in that respect, so thanks Liz & Jean for the reminder about how few people in our world adore reading!