Reading can take you anywhere, if you let it -- by Jennifer Mitchell

Growing up in the 80’s I enjoyed reading books by Beverly Cleary and Judy Bloom.  I moved on to The Baby-Sitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High books after that.  In upper elementary my teacher introduced us to The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. I hadn’t read books like that before and it opened up a new genre for me to explore.  That led me to getting the Anne of Green Gables series for my birthday and I fell in love with it. Fast forward to my young adult life, post undergraduate degree, and I came to realize I had fallen out of love with reading.  I had spent so many years devoted to reading college course work that I had forgotten what it was like to read for enjoyment.  A couple years later at a family gathering my sister-in-law suggested I read this new book with a character named Harry Potter.  I decided to give it a try and I couldn’t put the book down. I realized what I had been missing when I stopped reading just for fun.  From that time on, I have continued to read for enjoyment regularly.  I love being able to have conversations with my mom, daughter, sister-in-law and coworkers about the books we have been reading and give suggestions to each other.


As a teacher, I try to share various genres when I do a read-aloud with my students. The book Wish, by Barbara O’Connor was the last story that I read to my students. It probably isn’t a book they would normally read on their own, but it brought up good discussion about real life issues that kids are faced with.  I hope they discover the love of reading through one of the books I share with them.  


Reading is a magical gift, but sometimes you have to reconnect with it.





Comments

  1. It's often through the efforts of teachers like you that kids discover new authors and books they might not otherwise. Thank you for sharing your love of reading with your students.

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  2. Some of my fav books, too!

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  3. Classroom read-alouds are so powerful!

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  4. I'm going to agree, reading is a magical gift. Great post.

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