When my 5-year-old grandson got home from kindergarten Friday and found out his family was going on a hike the next day, the first thing he did was start running around the house collecting all the animal identification books he could find and loading them in his backpack, so recently emptied of lunchbox, library book, and Friday folder. My daughter smiled at his excitement as he filled his backpack, murmuring to me, “Here’s hoping I can convince him to leave it in the van…”
He doesn’t even read yet, and he already finds joy in the understanding that books can be a part of slaking his inexhaustible curiosity about God’s amazing world. His home community has nurtured this in him with abundant access to shelves of books at home and frequent library trips. His parents and grandparents have invested hours and hours in reading with him—selecting books that will match his interests and expand his horizons—and talking with him about what they read together.
His home community also models their own reading life. His dad is currently reading The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri for insights it might offer into the work he does at a business that offers job and language training for immigrants. His mom is reading When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace by Ruth Chou Simons to prepare for facilitating a moms’ book discussion related to her work as the director of children and family ministries at her church. His 3-year-old sister’s current favorite book is Invasion of the Unicorns by David Biedrzycki. (I got it for her for Christmas—it had me at “Secret Agent Bubble07 reporting….”) His 1-year-old brother enjoys bouncing to the rhythms of Sandra Boynton’s Barnyard Dance.
All of that has given him an expansive vocabulary and knowledge of the world as well as a grounding in seeing other perspectives and practicing wise choices. (At 3 he used to cover his ears and run out of the room at the line where the protagonist in a fairy tale is told the one restriction that they must never do…knowing already that they were sure to do it.) I hope school continues to nurture this joy in books as he learns to read, rather than sidelining it in the barrage of all the “stuff” that must be taught.
Why? Because he needs to read a lot to continue to build vocabulary and knowledge of the world, reading comprehension and writing skill, and perspective taking and moral choice making. And really, joy in reading is the motivation that will propel him most surely through the volume of reading that will get him there. Because those competencies will help him learn all the other “stuff” of school and position him to keep learning and using his voice as he takes his place in the world outside of school. Because joy in reading is a much more effective and long-lasting motivator than requirements, grades, and compliance.
The Joy of Reading, Donalyn Miller and Terri Lesesne’s new book, outlines this case in five descriptive chapters, backed by research, years of experience, and personal stories.
These 5 chapter titles offer a clear breakdown of the essential components for building a joyful reading experience for students—a solid paradigm for any teachers or administration who are interested in a refresher or a primer in the topic. Elements I found particularly helpful were the reading autobiography in the first chapter, graphic “book stacks” scattered throughout (recommendations represented as a sketch of a stack of 5 current middle grades and YA titles in a given category--see photos in this paragraph and the next), and resources for finding the books that will fuel your own and your students’ reading joy.
One component I want to focus on in the coming term is honoring readers’ responses. How do I respond to my reading? I know that when I’ve tried to write a Goodreads review for every book I finish, I mostly stare grumpily at the screen, wishing I could just start a new book. On the other hand, I love recommending a book to a friend. (I just did it this morning on Facebook Messenger with the book I finished last night.) I write blog posts about professional books (like this one!) to help me process the content and to share it with colleagues. I talk with friends and family about how books like Timothy Keller's Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter and Jemar Tisby’s How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice give us the courage to wrestle faithfully with all the brokenness within and around us. I want to offer students more opportunities to talk informally with classmates about their reading, and help them think about all the different ways they can and do respond to their reading.
I hope my grandson’s classroom and school community continue to nurture in him the joy of reading that his family has implanted. I hope that my classroom and school community will be that blessing to other people's grandchildren who come through our doors—both continuing what families have begun and helping students discover or rediscover the treasure of reading joy.
For further and inspiration and specific ideas for classroom implementation, I recommend the following books:
All of that has given him an expansive vocabulary and knowledge of the world as well as a grounding in seeing other perspectives and practicing wise choices. (At 3 he used to cover his ears and run out of the room at the line where the protagonist in a fairy tale is told the one restriction that they must never do…knowing already that they were sure to do it.) I hope school continues to nurture this joy in books as he learns to read, rather than sidelining it in the barrage of all the “stuff” that must be taught.
Why? Because he needs to read a lot to continue to build vocabulary and knowledge of the world, reading comprehension and writing skill, and perspective taking and moral choice making. And really, joy in reading is the motivation that will propel him most surely through the volume of reading that will get him there. Because those competencies will help him learn all the other “stuff” of school and position him to keep learning and using his voice as he takes his place in the world outside of school. Because joy in reading is a much more effective and long-lasting motivator than requirements, grades, and compliance.
The Joy of Reading, Donalyn Miller and Terri Lesesne’s new book, outlines this case in five descriptive chapters, backed by research, years of experience, and personal stories.
- Joy: What Is It Good For?: This chapter addresses the questions What is reading joy? Why is it important? How can we support it? And because the adults in the room must first remember and reclaim their own reading joy, it challenges the readers to write their own reading autobiography, supplying questions and sample answers from the authors.
- Joyful Reading Relies on Abundant Access and Time: This chapter offers many specific suggestions on how to provide the time and books that support reading joy—via school and public libraries, classroom libraries, and teaching kids to find books that give them joy.
- Joyful Reading Encourages Readers’ Choices: This chapter addresses what effective scaffolding for reading is and isn’t and provides guidance for knowing books, knowing readers, and making the match between them.
- Joyful Reading Honors Readers’ Responses: This chapter discusses what authentic reading responses look like. What do adult readers, who read joyfully for their own purposes, do when they finish a book? It depends on the reader and on the book. Maybe a conversation, a book review, a recommendation, further research, a life application. Certainly not a packet of teacher questions at the end of every chapter, or a standard book report, or even a pick-your-own creative project.
- Joyful Reading Thrives in a Supportive Community: This chapter is replete with ideas for what this kind of community can look like in a classroom, a school, and beyond; and how it can be fostered with celebration and planning, not competition.
These 5 chapter titles offer a clear breakdown of the essential components for building a joyful reading experience for students—a solid paradigm for any teachers or administration who are interested in a refresher or a primer in the topic. Elements I found particularly helpful were the reading autobiography in the first chapter, graphic “book stacks” scattered throughout (recommendations represented as a sketch of a stack of 5 current middle grades and YA titles in a given category--see photos in this paragraph and the next), and resources for finding the books that will fuel your own and your students’ reading joy. 
I hope my grandson’s classroom and school community continue to nurture in him the joy of reading that his family has implanted. I hope that my classroom and school community will be that blessing to other people's grandchildren who come through our doors—both continuing what families have begun and helping students discover or rediscover the treasure of reading joy.
For further and inspiration and specific ideas for classroom implementation, I recommend the following books:
- The Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller (elementary)
- Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers by Penny Kittle (secondary)
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