I have come to fall in love with teaching in Catholic schools. What are YOU in love with?...

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything." - Pedro Arrupe

Monday, March 12, 2012

Read all about it

Books, books, books. Some people must think that's all I ever talk or care about.

Clearly, books are something I love - and I love to share them too. This is evident when I recommend some solid reads to others, whether those 'others' be children or adults. (Trust me, I know some gems at all levels of reading!)

Take this past weekend, for example - I spent a great deal of time during my visit on Friday in the classroom of the fifth graders (whom I had as fourth graders last year). Somehow, I did not manage to leave their room without first sharing with a few of them about The Mysterious Benedict Society (see post on mysteries). Their teacher (a current ACEr and a good friend of mine) explained later how my eyes had lit up with excitement as I spoke with the kids about the book.

Even in my own classroom, this phenomenon has been evident: A few weeks ago, a student was at a loss for what to read next, so I pulled a few - okay, more like 8 or 10 - books from the bins in the classroom library and started talking about each one and why it would be a good read. A student close by proceeded to gently "shhhh" me; however, I then explained how it would be simply impossible to be quiet when talking about books.

Here are just a handful of ones that I've enjoyed (some more recently than others) that would do well to be on most everyone's list of books to read. (Let's face it, a Top 10 here is just not possible!):

(Adult) Realistic Fiction:
Any books by Jodi Picoult
Water for Elephants
One Day
The Help

Nonfiction:
Story of a Soul (St. Therese of Lisieux) - you can access this text online*
The Reading Promise

For kids of all ages (by genre) -->

Mysteries:
The Mysterious Benedict Society
The Westing Game
The 39 Clues series

Fantasies:
The Tale of Despereaux
Tuck Everlasting - our newest read aloud!
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
Secrets at Sea
Percy Jackson and the Olympian series

Realistic/Historical Fiction:
Any books by Sharon Creech
To Kill a Mockingbird
Esperanza Rising
Hatchet

...And there are SO many more.

But that would require a lot more space and a lot more time.

For now, this is a start. I hope you have enjoyed (or will enjoy) many of the books on this list. (And I hope you have a list of your own.)

Happy Reading... (Remember, the library is your friend...)

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your love of reading with Alexandra. Although I LOVE to read, she didn't find that passion until she was in your class. Thank you!

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  2. "The Westing Game" is such a fantastic book. It was my last selection for my book review column, and I didn't even care that it would be just as suitable for a third-grader as it was for me. :)

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