Open a World of Possible- Read

I recently was asked to write a blurb about what reading means to me, perhaps discussing a favorite or pivotal book. That task was totally aligned with my current read, Open a World of Possible: Real Stories About the Joy and Power of Reading, edited by Lois Bridges. This book contains a collection of short essays- 1 to 3 pages- by a variety of people ranging from authors like Jon Scieszka and Pam Muñoz Ryan to poets like Kwame Alexander and Georgia Heard and to renowned people who have written and taught about teaching reading from Richard L. Arlington to Thomas Rasinski to Kelly Gallagher.

These authors talked about growing up. Some as English language learners and immigrants. Some as poor rural children or children of the inner city. Some as wealthy or middle class citizens. Many mentioned the importance of libraries and librarians to their love of reading. Others discussed the influence of families reading to them. Many mentioned encyclopedias- they had them, often at great hardship- and they read them. Some books were referenced repeatedly like To Kill a Mockingbird, Dr. Seuss and The Outsiders. Frequent allusions were made to Dick and Jane.

My concern around this book is that many of these things are threatened. Some politicians and citizens would argue that libraries are no longer useful- we should spend our money elsewhere. Electronic sources do not need a brick and mortar structure. How wrong they are. I have an eReader but still relish the feel of a book in my hands, in fact, I prefer it. Good Reads and Amazon may have book reviews to examine, but an expert in books otherwise known as a librarian will lead you to a book that might captivate a young reader's attention or help you efficiently wade through the vast collection to find the information you are looking for. Libraries also provide safe havens for youth who have no one home after school or who live in areas where safety might be a concern or who do not have access to internet or English literate adults in their world... Libraries are essential.

Encyclopedias. Growing up we had two sets. We referenced them for school assignments. When my mother required that we be able to share one thing we had learned at the dinner table each night there was a mad dash for the volumes before dinner. We even read them when we were bored, skimming through pages looking for something to catch our interest. Random information like Millard Fillmore's birthday- January 7, or the capital of Nepal- Kathmandu, or that a group of turkey vultures is called a murder were all shared. When you need to type what you are interested in learning about into a search engine- it is not the same. The browsing concept is missing. So too is the idea that my family sacrificed to buy this set so I need to use it mentality. You might not be able to learn everything about a topic from an encyclopedia, but you can learn that the topic exists. Organizational structures are not available for children to explore- alphabetical, similar types of entries had a pattern. Encyclopedias are not even printed any more. Such a loss. Ebay has an assortment available for those who do not remember these sets.

Classics. Classic children's books abound. Many of these books are still beloved favorites still found on our shelves long after the authors have died. Margaret Wise Brown, Dr. Seuss, Longfellow and Asimov all have permanent spots on shelves, even as they are joined by new friends like Pam Muñoz Ryan, Suzanne Collins. Some would say we should let the classics go and focus on new literature that touches children. All literature can touch people- that is what makes it a classic. We need to read like we are touched and changed by what we read. We need to teach that.

Dick and Jane. Often maligned characters that hundreds of thousands of children learned to read with. The uninspiring story lines and closely regulated vocabulary were companions of learning to read. Sight word reading has its limitations, but it did lead to some level of fluency. While the vast majority of people need phonics to learn to read, there does exist a small subset that will only read through sight words and sight words are essential for fluency. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run did enable most children to read. If only we coupled this instruction with captivating stories, intriguing nonfiction pieces and phonics we might have had a formula for greater love of reading. That said- most young people do not read beyond what is required of them by school. All of our pushing for nonfiction reads and rigor leave little motivation for leisure reading.

An interesting assignment might be to read a couple of examples to class and then ask them to write about reading. It would provide great insights into our children, what they enjoy and hate about reading. Such an assignment could help us understand our role in readicide or bibliophilia and give us an opportunity to alter that path. Charles R. Smith, Jr. put it lovingly in verse:

     So many sights and sounds
     that I can write down
     of the live that I've lived
     from the books that I found
     filled with words
     that planted the seed
     of dreams for me
     when I chose to read. (p. 179)

We need to make sure that we plant the seeds of dreams through words.