I don't want to read that!

Have you ever been looking through a newspaper and you just throw a page on the ground because there isn't any good pictures? Or the amount of very small words overwhelms you? Or you just don't want to read about how all these people died? Or who got arrested that week? Have you ever been "window shopping" books at the grocery store because you don't want to buy them and you seem to glance past certain ones saying "no, not pretty enough, no, too futuristic, ewww vampires?"

Well, these are some things that go through my head when I'm faced with reading when I haven't picked out my own books.  Kids are the exact same way, if they don't want to read something because it doesn't look intriguing, there are too many small words for them, or it has no interest to them; then they are showing signs of being non-readers. Maybe we never grow out of it, or we just have more choices when we're older, but we have to be aware of why a child doesn't want to read a book before making them read it

Just Right Books

One night you are up way past your bedtime because you can not stop reading your book until it is finished.  When you finally finish, you have this sinking feeling in your chest because "what book could you read next that would make you feel the same way?"  You feel good because you read this really stellar novel, but are equally in despair because no other book can be that good.  What do you look for in your next book?

As a teacher we teach kids to go to the library to find a "just right book," usually with the right amount of words, pictures, level of vocabulary, and ability to comprehend.  This is all well and good for elementary school kids, but as they grow older there are more things they need to look at for it to be "just right."

I encounter this all the time, I'm at the library, or talking to a friend, or just browsing through random book lists I find online.  You search for the genre, the length, the reviews on the back, if other people recommend it, if the cover speaks to you, if you've read books by that author before, if it's available,  and do you relate to the story line?

Ultimately, you won't know if it's a just right book until you start reading it.  Some books start slower than others and you might not get into it, or you might read through it and think "why did I waste my time?" Choosing a just right book is hard, so teaching students things to look for in a book will help them use their reading time wisely when they are older.