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.
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