Whatever it takes?

This week, one of our library books was this:



There was also some reading done from our own home library:


As any preschool parent is surely already aware, there is an entire genre of children's literature based on popular television or movie characters.  I cringe when I see them, lurking in $2.99 book bins and at school book fairs: paperbacks starring Dora, Diego, or any of the disney princesses.  I find them at their best, forgettable, and at their worst cloying, full of irritating pop-morality and carelessly produced.

And yet. My kids LOVE them.  My pre-K crew is able to detect one from 20 yards away and zooms directly towards them.  We have to set limits on the number we check out from the library, because if my children had their way, this might be all they ever read.  The few that have made their way into our home collection have been read and reread and carried around lovingly until they're tattered.  

The publishers and advocates for these books make an increasingly common argument:

We will do whatever it takes to get kids reading.

If it takes mimicking TV or appealing to popular branding, that's fine.  If later on, it takes feeding kids books filled with zombies and vampires and sex, that's great.  At least they're reading, right?

They admittedly have a point.  My older kids happily read from these gems as their own independent reading skills developed, even while they resisted my choices.  And I'm sure the sheer repetition contributes to my preschooler's budding literacy.

Yes, junk literature may get our kids excited about reading.  It may provide a jumping off place for their literacy skills.  But ultimately, if kids are not also guided to high quality literature, it gets them excited about reading junk.

Even the very youngest children can and should be able to tell the difference between well-written and creative works and unimaginative drivel.  Our children's librarian invites kids to rate each book she shares during story time with thumbs up-thumbs down signals.  We should encourage this kind of criticism, and lead our young readers to choose the very best they can find.

Good writers can elevate even the seemingly pedestrian job of writing "early readers" into an art form.  Mo Willems, Dr. Suess, and Cynthia Rylant have all written authentic characters and memorable plots--even with the simplified format and limited vocabulary required by early readers.  But books with a brand instead of an author?  I'm pretty sure my 7 year old has written stories that show my creativity.

 I want to raise readers, yes--but I want to raise discerning readers who will devour Shakespeare and Jules Verne and Jane Austen.  Not only Danielle Steele or Stephenie Meyer.  Because even mediocre books will entertain my kids.  I want my little readers to learn love books that will change them.

Thank you, Thank you, Sam I Am!

In celebration of Dr. Suess's birthday on Saturday, March 2nd, the kids and I tucked into the couch with our giant Your Favorite Suess compilation.  We ended up reading a few of the classics: Green Eggs and Ham, The Sneetches, The Lorax, Dr. Suess's Sleep Book, and of course, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.   I went along with their pleas for "Just one more!" with pleasure, knowing that there's no such thing as too much Suess.

Dr. Suess is one of the safe bets, and if you're a parent dedicated to reading to your children, I'm preaching to the choir.  You know as well as I do that his humor, whimsy, and quality language set him apart.  His are books that stand the test of repeated readings.  A good thing, too, because they are sure to be repeated!

There's something more about Dr Suess that I may not have realized at first.  His books are so widely popular that they create the beginning of a shared cultural knowledge base.   My kids may not understand the reference I make to Hamlet yet, but if I refer to the Grinch, they get it.  We refer to the characters and stories of Dr. Suess well into our adulthood.  The themes and morals mature along with us.

The stories create a place for children and adults to talk about timeless themes. Racism.  Equality.  Environmentalism.  By reading Dr. Suess with my kids I am not only introducing them to these issues, but I am giving them a toolbox of safe metaphors with which to discuss them.  They can refer to sneetches and their belly stars long before they need to learn the ugly truths about hate crimes and segregated lunch counters.  They can learn from the Lorax about caring for the earth without yet delving into the intricacies of foreign oil dependence or global warming.  His stories provide a bridge between the innocence of childhood and the complexities of adult life.

Plus, you'll want them to understand jokes like this someday, won't you??

Here we go!

We are one day and four books into our 1,000 book challenge!

Our favorite of the batch was a book our librarians spotlighted, Wait!  I Want to Tell You a Story by Tom Willans.

In this charming story, a muskrat is caught by a tiger, but distracts him by telling him story after embedded story about animals caught in the same predicament, all using the same story to distract their captors.  The descent into Inception-like madness ends when a crocodile sneaks up behind the tiger and eats him, allowing the muskrat to escape.

Why do I like this?  It's silly.  It's funny in a way that appeals to kids without boring adults.  It playfully parallels the classic story line of "1001 Nights". The illustrations are simple, bright, and happy go lucky.

In order to keep my ever-expanding list in check (even as I'm typing, Dad is upstairs reading a few more stories) I've created a spreadsheet, which is available as a separate page entitled "Master List of 1,000 books".  Here I list each book we read, along with its author, the date we read it, and a rating.  Rating system is as follows:

1--pretty lousy book.  I'll assign this to books I find sentimental, cloying, or dull.  This is a signal that I do not recommend this book and do not intend to read it again.

2--I expect most books to fit into this category.  This is intended to cover the broad range of books that we read, enjoy, and then forget.  There isn't anything wrong with a book I rate "2", I just don't want to mark it as a particular book to remember.

3--This is where I put books that stand out to me for being particularly memorable.  This is the sort of book I would consider purchasing as a gift or for our own personal library.  I want to be able to look back at these books and read them again!

Leave me a comment telling me about what you're reading these days!

The Beginning

During our visit to "5 and Under" story time this week, Miss Jenn, our talented and enthusiastic children's librarian, introduced us to a new program called "1,000 books before Kindergarten".  It's self explanatory:  read 1,000 books to your preschoolers.  Earn rewards along the way.  Enjoy the ultimate reward of creating life-long readers.

I didn't need to be sold on the concept of reading to my children.  We already read together every day, and I go through the children's section of our library like it's a candy store.  A FREE candy store.  I grab books with titles that make me laugh, and I grab books with spines that are the right color.  I grab books because I think I may have heard of the author before.  And every week, I need to come back because we've run through our larger than life pile of books and we need more. 

(I'm not kidding about the "larger than life" part.  Today, I held my book bag in one arm and my 2 year old son in the other.  Books weighed more.)

As a result, I've got two school aged kids that love school and who are happily making the transition into independent readers.  I'm feeling pretty confident that we're doing the right stuff at home.  

However. 

I do need desperate help recording our adventures.  A few months ago, I discovered that my library website does NOT keep a record of the books I check out.  This probably should not have surprised me, but it means that I am left to rely on my memory to recall the details of the larger-than-life piles of books we check out each week.  I can't remember the name of a book or an author when I want to find them again. I accidentally check books out multiple times that have memorable covers but forgettable interiors.  I can't recommend anything because I end up saying things like, "yeah, we just read a really great book.  By this guy.  It had a really cute pink cover."   

And so I'm beginning this blog, where I'll take note of each book I read to my kids.  It won't be the first 1,000, and it certainly won't be the last.  But in the 18 months I have left before child number 3 begins Kindergarten, I'd like a record of where our delightful wanderings through the world of children's literature take us.  I hope you'll join me!