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Reading: why some children do and some don’t.
Lauren Sisino Freeman
Feb 16, 2023 Feb 16 at 12:13pm
I used to work in Literacy Development, and a key entry point to interest was set aside time to mimic. Kiddos, especially under three, want to do what you’re doing. You’ll see many parent blogs talk about getting their toddlers to eat veggies simply by eating them and their kids will always want a bite of “mommy’s/daddy’s food”. I worked with a boy five days a week from 8 months until three years old. Every single day I would set aside time, sit down, and read a book out loud. He would be in the same room with me, he didn’t even have to be actively listening. After about a week he started to show interest, then within a month he was hooked. He brought me books, I read them. We read together, and we would read separately. The key here, much like the key to getting your kids to eat vegetables, is that it was simply an integrated part of our day. It was not high stakes, it was not high reward, it was a normal thing of the many activities we did. Providing that 10, 15, 30 minute window of having the option to read, and not being punished if you choose not to, has been essential to all of my clients of all ages in Literacy Development. The interest has to be intrinsic, not forced.
In my childhood, I remember reading being linked to being smart. So, when I didn’t want to read I felt like a failure. If someone read more than me, I felt dumb. This only motivated me to resist reading even more. Reading truly is such a powerful tool in every aspect of life, shown to have extreme health benefits. Taking it off the pedestal and not having it reflect who you are as a person would’ve helped me maintain my interest in reading as a child and I hope I am able to portray that to any children I come across.
Multicultural Books for your Classroom
Books for Boys
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool
Why Reading Matters….
Reading is an event in the lives of all literate people. Reading covers so many things— recipes, instructions, newspapers, magazines, Facebook, blogs, history books, biographies, fairy tales, mysteries, even banned books like Catcher in the Rye or the Holy Bible— yes the Bible is banned in many parts of the world. All are a part of literate lives. It is important that children learn to appreciate all reading because reading is important to all areas of life: for learning new ideas, for skills, for guidance, in learning about mistakes of the past, for learning about nature, for inspiration, and for pleasure.
Cats Can be Curious Creatures
Are you a cat lover? I have been in the past. I owned a beautiful Siamese with champagne colored fur. Tinker was a cute kitten but grew to be a rather feisty “tom”. And, yet, he was beautiful with his special markings and turquoise eyes.
Books about cats can share a similar kind of paradox. They can be beautiful, fun, helpful, disturbing, as well as unsettling. The cat in Paula Fox’s Newbery award winner, The One-Eyed Cat is not cute or pretty. He is a feral with scrappy body and ragged fur. Sadly, the hero of the story -jumped-the-gun- so to speak by sneaking an early Christmas present out behind the house so he could practice the feel of the weapon in his nine year old hands. An accidental discharge from the gun took the cat’s eye and left our hero with a year’s worth of guilt and remorse. But, good was worked out of the bad when the young boy developed a deep and lasting friendship with an elderly neighbor. The boy inherited wisdom, compassion, and helpful strategies for the feeding and care of a wild cat with only one eye. This book is sad, funny, unsettling, and about as real-world as any I’ve ever read. It is perfect for older elementary through high school readers. It’s especially meaningful for animal lovers.
One-Eyed CAT by Paula Fox and illustrated by Erika Meltzer is a Newbery award honor book. Published by Simon & Schuster (latest edition)
Do you like fables, those moral tales with animals playing the part of humans?
I know of a very good Caldecott award winner with creative images made from a variety of materials to form collages of a very hungry cat. The Cat From Hunger Mountain by Ed Young teaches a good lesson about greed and gluttony. The storyline is easy to follow but the vocabulary could be above most primary age children. This provides a perfect opportunity for read aloud. The adult reader can improvise and explain the unknown words and some of the abstract concepts in the story. This is a great book for middle school readers, especially those with an interest in the visual arts. It is also a good reminder that greed is a universal failing, one that can bring some very hard life-lessons.
Both One-Eyed Cat and The Cat from Hunger Mountain are good springboards for research projects. Depending on the ages of your students, you could delve more deeply into the following topics:
Nutrition and Healthful Living
Relationships between the very young and the very old.
More Ideas for Younger Children
My pet cat. Use drawings and photos to tell pet stories. <be sure to give credit to your sources>
Wordsearch using names of different breeds of cats
What’s the difference between domesticated and wild cats (or jungle cats)?
Messages for Parents, Grandparents, Caregivers and their Children.
The Light Wins
Who doesn’t love a good animal fantasy? Think of the adventures of Peter Rabbit stealing
cabbages in the garden with Mr. McGregor always in hot pursuit. Or, remember Alice in her adventures in underworld wonderland chasing the rabbit who was always chasing time. A more modern story is The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. The noble little mouse had his tale cut off by a misguided young servant girl as he continually was being chased by ravaging rats in the cellar dungeon. As the hero in the story, he was not to be deterred as he continued on his quest to rescue the beautiful human princess (possible only in a fantasy/fable). One of the main themes in The Tale of Despereaux is the persistence of the protagonist (good guy and hero) Despereaux. He kept seeking the light while chasing through the dark tunnels of the dungeon. Even though he must return to the Dark of the dungeon to complete his mission, he never gave up on the Light. In contrast, the wicked rats hated the light with such vengeance they even worked to prevent others from seeking the light.
So many places in scripture refer to Jesus as Light. He came into the world as light for all people, but just like the rats in the Tale of Despereaux some loved darkness more than light. As the Apostle John explains in John 3:19-20, those who do evil hate the light because they know the light exposes the wrong that they do. Evil prefers darkness over light. Light brings a new day. The sun rises and we can see the beauty of the world around us. It can be used to guide us as we walk along a path even at night time. Light causes plants to grow and is needed for life to continue on earth. A spotlight can be a life-saving warning shining on the rocky shore of a beach. Even a laser light is used by the surgeon to cut through disease in human flesh.
The light of Jesus shines through his parables, his miracles, his example of prayer. He shines through his commandments to love God and love our neighbor in the same way we love our self. Later Jesus’ followers also became lights by telling of God’s redemption through Jesus, but remember, we are only a reflection of The Light. To remain bright and shining, we must commit to time with The True Light by studying the Holy Bible, prayer, and seeking His will continually. Jesus’ light never fades and is a guide for us throughout our life.
John 8:12 Jesus said… I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
If you are a parent, grandparent, or other caregiver, click on the Being the Light link below and download a wordsearch puzzle (www.thewordfinder.com) with a variety of words expressing light!
Being the Light! (download printable puzzle )
Type in your email above to receive notice of upcoming
Messages to Parents, Grandparents, and Caregivers.
This blog has been written by Carol Adamec Brown, retired professor and constant volunteer with her local church.
DiCamillo, K., & Ering, T. B. (2003). The tale of Despereaux: Being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread.
Images from Pixabay.com
< https://pixabay.com/photos/rabbit-forest-nature-rabbits-3497805/ >
< https://pixabay.com/photos/lighthouse-starry-sky-universe-6785763/>
Puzzle created using The Word Finder < https://www.thewordfinder.com/ >
Book Messages from my Mother
The size of my home library had grown to the breaking point. Books spilled onto the floor and escaped to the back of the shelves. Books in bags; books in drawers, and books in the bottom of the closet were becoming a problem. Cleaning was a very dusty chore. Many of the books didn’t merit a re-read or as a resource for future teaching assignments. Some were out of date and irrelevant to my life today. Others were on the shelf as a result of impulse buying. I knew I would never read those books, but someone might! I knew I had to find a home for about a third of all my books. I tried donations, giveaways, gifting, little libraries at the parks, and book sales at the public libraries. Even after all the work trying to reduce the numbers of books, I still had stacks and stacks in every room.
Reducing a home library requires organization and careful planning. The best way to plan is to stack by genre, then by category within the genre. Follow this by dividing children’s books from young adult and adult. Most of my books would be in the religious or spiritual category which presented a whole new set of problems. Do I stack by spirituality, community service, prayer-life, church administration, or maybe women’s issues? The list was as long as the deacon’s list of church committees.
Shelves were now empty which presented a new problem. How should the “keepers” be organized on the shelves? You may think it is a simple matter of author’s name or the Dewey number. No, if I wanted to find a book in a hurry, it needed to be shelved by specific needs. For example, what are the best ways to help someone who just buried their mother, or how can I help a teacher plan so that children are interested and engaged in a lesson? Organization was the key!
Since a dear extended family member had just buried her mother, I browsed through a list of books on death and dying and how to help people during this sad time in their life. I came across a book by Dr. Billy Graham, Death and the Life After, published in 1994 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. I didn’t recognize the cover, so I speculated on where I had bought the book or was it a gift? Maybe one of our church staff had given it to me as a resource while serving on the Benevolence Team. As I was thumbing through the book, some photos slipped from the pages. There were two, one photo of my mother and another of my Dad. Both were taken at different times but were Christmas photos with the opening of brightly wrapped packages. Even though times and places were different, both looked very happy and full of Christmas joy.
Suddenly a Mystery.
As I continued to thumb through the pages, I found several folded sections. My search for purpose in folded pages became a bit of a family mystery. These were clearly marked as important to the reader. And, I discovered a book mark with several scripture references scribbled in pencil. No mistaking it, the references were in my mother’s handwriting. I know what you are thinking—many people will find marked Bibles and other books with special verses underlined or with notations. This, however, would not be typical of my mother who was not a church-goer. Neither were her parents (my grandparents), but I will be quick to defend them. Mother and Dad taught me to honor God’s laws. They taught me through the children’s version of the Holy Bible given me as a child, and they taught me by what they valued in everyday life. Dad was a stickler about God’s command to honor the Sabbath. He refused to go shopping on Sunday. Mother, on the other hand loved to browse the stores on Sunday afternoon. It was recreation for her. Both my parents believed strongly in the importance of family and in honoring one’s marriage vows. Dad taught me to be honest, never lie, or steal from others. In later years, both parents would read their tattered King James bibles. I’m not sure they understood some of Apostle Paul’s letters or the warnings of the prophets, but I trust the Holy Spirit was able to interpret for them. Dad loved to watch the “bible stories” that network television stations scheduled on Sunday mornings and during the holidays. I saw tears stream down his face when the Jesus movies told the story of the crucifixion. In later years, after Dad’s death, my mother received much comfort from reading a newer translation of the Bible. One verse in particular was comforting for her. It was Jesus’ assurance in John 14:2 that He was saving a house for her in heaven. She looked forward to meeting Daddy there in the future house up in heaven. She coupled this with her strong upbringing to fear the Lord as He was sure to return one Day and Believers would be resurrected to a new Heaven and a new Earth. She also knew the importance of repentance and following the good words of the gospel. She encouraged her children to let go of any bitterness in their hearts. “It’s like a cancer” she said. “Don’t let it eat at your heart”, which brings me to the scriptures she had noted on the scrap of a book mark in her Bible.
Psalm 31:24 (NIV) Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. The second scripture was more about following the good teachings of the Apostle Paul, Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice”, Ephesians 4:31(NIV).
Mother was greatly comforted by reading the Bible. She knew that the phrase to “take heart” meant to keep her heart at peace. She made decisions to turn from any bitterness in her heart and she encouraged others to do the same. I’m thankful she jotted down important teachings for me to discover one day 22 years after her death. I’m glad God’s Spirit prompted me to browse my shelves and carefully check and sort each and every book. You never know what treasures you may find.
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Dr. Carol Adamec Brown
Taking Time for Advent 2021
I was looking through my personal diary/journal written December 2020. I don’t think I realized at the time how lonesome and scary was our community during Christmas time a year ago. Although we still face many frightening events occurring December 2021, we can trust the promises of God. We are looking at the Advent of Christ’s birth which has already occurred. Today we wait for the Advent of Christ’s second coming to earth. On that day, we will no longer see in a mirror darkly, but then, at His return, we see Him face to face.
See my blog Connecting With Others Second Half of Life.
Multicultural Books for your Classroom
I have three favorite books that fit the genre for multicultural:
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Pena, Penguin Random House, 2019.
In this award-winning book (Pura Belpre, Ezra Jack Keats, NY Times Best) the drawings are true to the culture with much attention to detail. The life of this little girl is rich with love of family, especially her Papi. Several passages in the book include Spanish translation. I read this book with 8-year child from Central America. He is learning English and loved the story and the drawings. He could relate to deep and loyal love of family which is an important, and admirable, characteristic of the Latino culture.
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, Delacorte Book for Young Readers, 1999.
It is interesting how a book published in 1999 about life in 1936 can realistically reflect life in 2021. Bud Caldwell (Buddy) is a brave little boy determined to find his father whom he has never seen—at least not that he can remember. The book describes the harrowing adventures of his travels from his mother’s house to the faraway location where he thinks his Dad might be living. This is a great read-aloud that I could hardly put down. Grades 2-middle school would be able to relate to Bud’s story. Persistence and bravery are the characteristics of this culture.
The Name Jar written and illustrated by Yangsook Choi
Learning to love, resolve conflict, and nurture relationships begin in elementary school. Children love to play and have fun with friends, but hurtful words can damage the soul and even affect academic performance. The Name Jar perfectly tells the story of how children can learn to accept those of a different culture while an individual can learn to develop self-respect for their own heritage. Our heroine is Unhei, a Korean child who is entering an American school. The book tells a beautiful story along with illustrations that are realistically painted with culturally sensitive colors.
For a full list of multicultural books see https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=best+children%27s+multicultural+books
Post Script: I must also mention Separate is Never Equal, written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. “Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a Whites only school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California”. Summary provided by NC Digital Library/NCKIDS and accessed through Sheppardlibrary.org
If you have books that you can add to this short list of multiculture titles, please post title and authors in the “Leave a Reply” box below.
Books for Hispanic Heritage Month. Reading Rockets. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/booklists/books-hispanic-heritage-month
Reading is Fundamental: Literacy Central. Bud, Not Buddy. Retrieved from https://www.rif.org/literacy-central/book/bud-not-buddy
Why Children Need Ongoing Nurturing Relationships. Scholastic. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/why-children-need-ongoing-nurturing-relationships/
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