My Own Summer Reading

Ah, summer! I have been reading some rave reviews of The Book Whisperer, so I put that on the top of my summer reads. To say I loved it is putting it mildly. It was both inspiring and validating, and I'd recommend to any elementary teacher and definitely to librarians. The premise is simple: read and read and read, and kids will become better readers. But it adds the important element that I think some of us forget--if we, as adults, are readers ourselves--passionate readers who talk about reading and share our love--then it's almost impossible for kids not to catch some of the reading fever.

For me personally, the book inspired me to get off my butt and do some serious summer reading. I have found that there is this weird pressure for librarians to have read all the books in a library, and while that is completely unrealistic, I know I can do better. I see how kids LOVE when I recommend a book to them, and I listen to them talk to each other about what to read. It truly is the best way to get kids to find a book that fits them. So here is the first of my summer reading pile. Living just a few blocks from the local library means this pile can be replenished over and over. Check out my book recommendation blog, Great Reads!, for the reviews.