Ticket to a new world

Better yet, when it’s time for them to go to their next class, they try to trick me into believing the class is really ten minutes longer. When I finally catch my bearings, they plead to stay.

Who says children don’t like books and don’t like to read? My students even beg to take turns reading. They enjoy sophisticated literature like The War that Saved My Life by Doll Bones, The Winter Horses and A Night Divided.

They love World War II stories.

They love edgy literature that pushes the boundaries.

They’re caring, bold and empathetic children because they read.

They react strongly to injustice and they cheer for the underdog.

They love funny stories like Brown Sugar and Spice and The Christmas Genie.

They serve as my literary ambassadors, getting students in other classes to read the books they enjoy. When I first discovered Cynthia Kadohata’s novel Kira-Kira, I tried for two years to get students to read the book.

All I had to do was hook one students, and it became a runaway hit.

Students spend every spare minute in the library picking out books. They come at lunch time, break time, and after school. I have had book clubs in which the whole class came during their break or lunch period. Watership Down happened to be one such book club.

Because they read, these students are sophisticated and articulate beyond their years. They can discuss literature like an adult, clearly voicing what engages them in a book. They possess self-confidence. No one can call my book lovers nerds, and even if someone did, my readers would shrug or laugh it off if they didn’t decide to take it as a badge of honour.

They love series and they latch on to certain genres or authors with gleeful tenacity. They bring their parents to the library to check out books when they have reached their limit of three books so that they will never be caught empty-handed at home.

My student readers make my job enjoyable. I love seeing their excitement at discovering a new author or book. They wait impatiently for new books to arrive.

They check several times a day and squeal with delight when the book gets catalogued.

All children need is a little nudge in the direction of a book.

They need someone to read to them and expose them to new books and genres.

They need someone to model reading and they need to see an adult get excited about reading.

They need clear links between books and their lives. This means a link to an upcoming movie or a link to a muddled feeling they can’t work out. They need to see characters in literature experience the same conflicts they experience in life. They need that support from make-believe characters.

My friend Betty Peter, author of Brown Sugar and Spice, always says, “Too many children out there are being deprived of the literature experience.” She’s right.

Books are a ticket to a whole new world, and nearly ever child I know will buy a ticket to that place.