How to Get Your Child to Love Reading - Softcover

Well, I could cut a potato in half. (I can use the paring knife from my own kitchen, right?) We could review fractions. With one half, I could cut a design and do potato prints. We could plant the eyes from the other half of the potato (it can have eyes, right?) and grow more potatoes, charting their growth. We could write a story about a potato, or write a book of potato recipes or potato poems. If we grew enough potatoes, we could make potato stamps of all the letters of the alphabet, and I could teach reading. I could go to the public library and find "The Potato with Big Ideas" from Little Old Mrs. Pepperpot by Alf Proysen or Brave Potatoes by Toby Speed. We could talk about the Irish potato famine of 1845, maybe read true accounts from Feed the Children First by Mary E. Lyons or Black Potatoes by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. We could write letters to the executives at Frito-Lay about their potato chips, or Playskool regarding their product, Mr. Potato Head.

Perhaps I am a bit potato headed myself, wasting precious time plotting the pedagogy of potatoes, but it begs the question, how do we teach our children, using what is available to us? Moreover, is there anything available to us that is as plentiful and versatile as potatoes, ready to feed all appetites?

Yes, there is. Children's literature is our national potato. Thousands of studies from the U.S. Department of Education as well as findings by independent researchers here and abroad consistently credit the utilization of children's literature for everything from school achievement to emotional development to increased life span and higher standards of living. So many of the dreams and goals we have for children, and that they have for themselves, can be advanced through the use of children's literature. So much of the blame exchanged between school, community, and family about education's failure can be converted into shared responsibility and success through children's literature. But the thing is, if you hand somebody a potato, or if you hand somebody a children's book, and he doesn't know how to make it cook . . . well, then.

This book is a recipe book for children's literature: how to serve it up so it's delicious and varied. Children's literature makes for a main course or a sustaining side dish, so you can use these recipes no matter what is on the menu in your child's classroom. First, let's recognize the main ingredient: trade literature, which is the kind of books and reading material you can find readily available at bookstores and libraries. These books have clearly designated authors and illustrators, with characters that usually appear in print before they appear on a television screen. I was trained as a teacher but it was not through teacher training that I discovered there was the whole world in children's literature. Instead, it was during the seven years I spent in children's bookselling before I got my degree. Every genre and every subject was there in the bookstores, many at a level of quality that rivaled or exceeded that of adult literature-only specially designed with children in mind and encompassing so much energy, joy, and imagination that these elements became the criteria for excellence. This inspired me entirely. While studying to become a teacher, I could imagine nothing greater than delivering this world to the children I would teach. This dream became my energy and my joy. It was as the great Russian writer Maxim Gorky wrote about his discovery of books in My Apprenticeship: "I came to appreciate what good books really were and realized how much I needed them and they gradually gave me a stoical confidence in myself: I was not alone in this world and I would not perish!" By using children's literature, I had the utmost faith that when I became a teacher, I, too, would not perish or feel alone, which is a wonderful and sometimes unusual thing for a teacher to believe. But I considered myself in an even more formidable position to use exclamation points than Gorky, because not only would I not perish, not only would I not be alone in the world, I had the tool that would allow me to help children to feel the same amazing way.

As strongly as I feel about advocating for the child, I feel equally as strong about advocating for the author. If, in the course of delivering literature-based education, we can constantly remind children that authors and illustrators are real and singular people, with intentions, then we are not only giving children the books, we are giving them the people behind the books. And if you are talking about reading, you are talking about connecting the two. In facilitating this connection, the most important question we can ask about a book is, "Why did the author write this?" In other words, "What did the author want to share?" This is a very difficult question, and it is the most important question, because it connects the child across time and space with this real person, this author, who had something to share, and cared enough to share it. This is extraordinary magic, a trick that allows a child who can read the option of never being quite as alone as a child who cannot. "Why did the author write this?" is also a question that can be asked of any book on any level, thus opening up a world of picture books to older readers, because any reading is made more sophisticated when this relationship is addressed. The connection between the author or illustrator and the young reader is a particularly remarkable relationship in which an adult trusts a child with all sorts of dreams and stories and memories and confidences and explanations. For many children, this relationship with an author may be the first emotional bond shared with an adult outside her own family and community. From this perspective, it should not be taken lightly.

If your child understands that a book is an extension of an author, then your child will also understand that he may not always connect with an author's style, just like he may not always like everybody he meets. And he will understand that he can always get another book and read what someone else has to share. With the right guidance and some freedom of choice, he will find authors he likes. Most problems arise in school settings when too many mismatches have been bound into one big fat textbook that the child is assigned every day, or if the literature made available to that child is of poor quality or incongruous with the child's ability and interests. When this happens, no one can accuse a child of being unjustified if he forms negative associations with books and takes that bloodcurdling leap into the world of "I hate reading." If reading is indeed a relationship between author and reader, people in the position of matching children with books are responsible for making informed choices so that the children are matched appropriately, so that they are most receptive to what the author or illustrator is trying to communicate. This is only difficult if you (a) don't know the body of literature available, (b) don't know the child, or (c) don't have access to books. I hope the thematic storytime adventures in this book will offer you a chance to know children's literature and to use it to connect with the children you love.

Potato Possibilities

When I figured out what I most enjoyed was sharing literature, I changed my job from "Madame EsmT, Classroom Teacher" to "Madame EsmT, School Librarian" so I could do more of what I loved. Whether working as a bookseller, storyteller, teacher, or librarian, I have discovered approaches that complement and support literature-based learning. Approaches are merely tools that allow us to present the main ingredient in delectable ways. Now, if we were talking about preparing a potato, maybe we'd approach it with a knife, a grater, a masher, a deep fryer. We'd need to come up with a lot of ways to prepare potatoes if we expected them to remain appetizing over a period of time. In this book, I discuss read-aloud, thematic, and integrated approaches to presenting literature-ways to keep books fresh, and, with a little practice, these approaches are as easy as mashing potatoes. Working with a theme, for instance, can give your child's reading a shape and can tie in to interests that will further motivate her. Nonfiction and historical fiction broaden learning's scope, and help children integrate, or see the connections between, reading and all areas of life. Read-aloud is the simple act of opening a book and reading it to a child. It can and should also be integrated into all areas of literature-based learning because read-aloud is literature-based education's gravitational force, the sun around which other planets, or literature-based approaches, revolve and maintain a forward direction. As I was pondering potato possibilities for using what already exists, I realized that the potential for reading could reveal itself in unexpected places, too. We've all encountered the musician in the subway. Well, for a change of pace, what grown-up wouldn't enjoy a bit of read-aloud before the train arrives? Maybe an adventure serial, or a folktale for all five o'clock commuters? Wouldn't it be nice to hear the train coming and all the passengers crying, "Aaawww," disappointed that they will have to wait to find out what happens-or excited to go out and buy the book for themselves?

I've also noticed children sitting on the curb in front of the Laundromat for hours, while their clothes wash, rinse, spin, wash, rinse, spin. What a perfect place for a bookshelf. Or how about the video store? How about books that were made into movies borrowed free with rental?

Then I looked at my own apartment. Couldn't I do something there?

The answer was yes. When I left teaching for maternity leave, and when I left again to write full-time and to run a children's literature Web site, I still had the desire to read to children. So I started to run children's literature programming out of my home. I realized how easy it was to do, and I also realized that anyone who likes children and children's books could do it, and would do it, if they knew how. People who understood the value of literacy and had the tools to instill that value in their children could create a remarkable community of readers. A country of readers. A planet of readers. Suddenly reading no longer seemed like such a solitary pursuit.

We have wonderful opportunities, all of us, to be proactive in delivering the best books for children and to work alongside educators. We aren't talking about anything exotic here. We are not talking about kiwi or rambutan or truffles or macadamias-remember, we are talking about the potato of education. I love when a teacher serves my child this potato. I am so thankful when she does. The great strength of our schools is that there are adults in those buildings who know what to do if they are only given a potato. But on the occasion when the schools don't deliver, I know I can. It is that freedom and empowerment that I hope to share with parents. And that is the premise and the promise of potato pedagogy. Let's not focus on worrying whether or not a child is full. Instead, let's assume a child is hungry. Let's focus on offering our children the best of what we have, knowing that if we offer it, the needs of the whole child will eventually be satisfied. All the children in this country can be fed!

Potatoes Up Close and Personal

This book is not just a book of ideas, but a book of personal experiences. These titles and suggestions have already been shared, tried, and proven with children from birth through eighth grade. I hope that they give you confidence to share, try, and innovate on your own. Some of the special features you will find in this book include: Reading Heroes. Mentors from both the present and the past have taught me something important about reading, how to love it, and how to share it. I mention them throughout the book, in the hope that they will inspire you to consider and embrace your own reading heroes.

Dear Madame EsmT. This "advice column" feature was inspired by the many letters and conversations I have had with teachers and parents from around the country looking for book recommendations to match their unique situations. You may find your own reading-related questions answered!

Potato Picks. No, this is not something your child pulls from his ear. Featured for excellence on the Web site PlanetEsme.com, these are suggestions for outstanding single titles, perfect for gifts or a read-aloud. Pick one with confidence whenever you need a surefire hit, or just use them to acquaint yourself as an adult with the best of children's books.

Thematic Lists. Special interests a specialty! Grab a pile of these books to create a great storytime or reading program based on the particular enthusiasms of the children you know and love. Also look for creative cues throughout the thematic lists. These imaginative crafts or activities serve as extensions of the ideas in the books and can help you entertain a hands-on horde.

Web sites. Log on to find resources that will further your knowledge and better your book collection.

As an author, I have personal biases that are sure to hang out like a loose hem, so I will admit to them now:

I am interested in educational theory. I like to know how children learn. There are many viable new and exciting theories and approaches out there that impact reading instruction, but I have to confess that my heart belongs to old-fashioned behaviorism, which views learning simply as a change in behavior. I have a particular interest in reading because it can be a great catalyst toward behavioral change. The changes can be subtle, such as knowing that the letter "B" goes "buh-buh-buh" when we didn't know "B" went any way at all. Or it can be more complicated: a change in the way we treat one another, such as moving from being suspicious or afraid to being at ease. Another covenant of behaviorism is that if you make people smile, they stick around and keep trying, and if you make them frown or say "ow," they stay away. I think the changes possible through literacy are worth going to great lengths so that people smile and stick around.

Some people are of the theory that knowing theories doesn't make a doo-wah of a difference, that you can still make people smile and frown without knowing one thing about behaviorism, and that just by loving kids you will make learning happen. This may be true, but still, I don't subscribe to the theory of unilateral-theory-discard. I don't like having to operate on instinct. If you know why you are doing what you are doing, you can do a better job of advocating for your approach if it works, or understanding why it doesn't work and being more helpful next time. So I'll try not to be overbearing, but I do think it's important to acknowledge research and theoretical work now and then-to remind us that we are not reinventing the wheel here, we are trying to ride the bike.

I like read-aloud. Please assume (unless otherwise noted) that every fiction book I recommend is sui...