Summer Book List

      I love reading, but that hasn’t always been the case.  I was a struggling reader.  You could say I was in the “Black Bird” group.  I’m sure my reading group wasn’t called that, but we knew.  We knew we couldn’t read like all the other bird groups.  When they read it sounded like a song, we sounded like chalk squeaking on the chalkboard.  (Yes, I’m that old! We had really chalkboards, not just the cute kind we decorate with now.  The real dirty ones that would make you sneeze.  We even had to clean the erasers.) 

     


       Back to my reading topic, I hated reading and would never pick up a book for enjoyment.  I thought you were either born a reader or not!  This made learning hard, but I struggled through school and depended on my love for math and science to survive.  It wasn’t until a friend suggested that I read the Twilight series that I ever remember finishing a book.  I know you either liked the series or you didn’t, but at that point in my life I devoured it.  I finished the first book in about two weeks. The next couple books in days.  After that series, I felt lost. But I was so proud that I had finished a book, especially one that thick!  I had discovered that you can connect to characters and be transported to a different world through a book.  Another teacher friend was reading the Karen Kingsbury Series.  At the time I didn’t know it was a 15 book series, but I got hooked and read the entire series.  The characters became like family members and their challenges my challenges.  Wow, reading took on a whole new adventure in my life.  Reading even became a huge form of enjoyment in my life!  Something that had given me so much embarrassment as a child became a great passion of mine!  

   

     I had the reading bug! I loved finding a good book to read. This became my “Teacher Game Changer”, I knew what it was like to struggle as a reader and then I knew the power of a good book and how it could change a nonreader into a passionate one! 

      So my goal as a teacher is to read as many children’s books a possible so I can recommend “THE PERFECT BOOK” for my students.  I create a classroom that promotes the love of reading.  Then once one student catches the reading bug, they can help give it to the other students.  My students start recommending books to their friends who have the same interests and in my classroom reading becomes contagious.  This year during school I read share my Google List with my students.  They can see what I'm reading and what I rated the book.  Students love to read the ones I rate lower, so they can disagree with my ratings.  Click here to see this year's book list.  

     During the summer months, I will continue to edit this list of great reads.  Please share this blog with parents who are struggling finding books their children books they will like.