Books Kids Will Sit Still For

Ten ways to recognize a great read-aloud

By Judy Freeman -- Curriculum Connections, 10/1/2006

One of the most satisfying aspects of teaching is reading to students and watching them as they become absorbed in the landscape of a great book. Over the years, reading aloud has been accepted as a valued part of the curriculum. We've learned that if we want children to become lifelong readers and writers, reading aloud immerses them in a glorious, unforgettable wave of language.

While teachers can finish a variety of memorable chapter books with their students each year, librarians often don't have time to read entire books to their classes during library visits. Still, they can sample—by booktalking and by reading aloud a compelling chapter here, a page or two there.

What makes a book worthy of class or library time? I made a list, "Ten Ways to Recognize a Read-Aloud." Using my criteria, I selected 10 recent books for grades 3 through 8 that sang to me when I read them, and that I hope will give you pleasure when you share them with a group. Those that are eventually published in paperback will make splendid choices for student book discussion groups as well.

1. The narrative pulls you into the story with scenes and characters that you remember long after the book is finished.

In Sara Pennypacker's Clementine (Hyperion, 2006, Gr 1-4), the third grader finds her fastidious friend Margaret in the bathroom with a big chunk of her hair missing, due to a glue accident in the art room. She offers to help Margaret even it out, but it's soon clear that the only thing to do is to cut off all her hair, which, as Clementine confides, "is not exactly easy with those plastic art scissors, let me tell you." Meet the newest soul sister to Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby and Barbara Parks's Junie B. Jones. There are lots of opportunites here for students to compare and contrast favorite characters, though Clementine's no clone. Her narrative is roll-on-the-floor hilarious, and Marla Frazee's ink drawings capture perfectly Clementine's insouciant personality. Start by reading aloud the first two chapters of the book and ask children to do a "quick write" about the worst things they ever did, and then share. And be sure to bring in clementines for tasting.

2. The book has a universal plot that relates to children's lives and speaks to boys and girls alike, developing and stretching their senses of humor, curiosity, and imagination.

Listeners will be charmed by the three unconventional friends in Emily Jenkins's Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable StingRay, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic (Schwartz & Wade, 2006; Gr K-4). StingRay, Lumphy the buffalo, and Plastic are buh-bumping in the backpack of the Little Girl with the blue barrette. Feeling nervous, Plastic hums. Lumphy feels sick. StingRay is sure they're heading to the vet or the zoo or the dump. But the Little Girl takes them out of her backpack at school and introduces them during show-and-tell as her "…best friends in the world." In six delectable chapters, each sporting a full-page pencil illustration by the venerable Paul Zelinsky, the omniscient narrator looks closely and compassionately at each new misadventure. Plastic suffers an identity crisis until TukTuk the towel helps her figure out what she is. (Spoiler Alert: a ball.) Lumphy gets "peanut buttery" in a picnic basket, but is frightened of the inevitable trip to the washing machine. And StingRay, a stuffed animal whose tag notes "dry clean only," tries to prove she can float in the bathtub. Children who talk to their own toys will relish the rich interior lives and the conversations of the personified trio. If you're talking about the importance of point of view in stories, have your students break into pairs or small groups to write dialogues or scenes between two or more of their own toys and perform them for each other.

3. The language is rich and dramatic and flows well when read aloud; the special experience of hearing this book read will lead children through a range of emotions that will help them make connections to their own lives.

This was a rich year for books about toys. I had the privilege and pleasure of writing the teacher's guide for Kate DiCamillo's jewel of a book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Candlewick, 2006; Gr 3-7). I immersed myself in DiCamillo's engrossing saga, read it more than a dozen times, and half a year later, I still find myself mulling over the destiny of young Abilene Tulane's self-satisfied three-foot tall china rabbit who has to learn how to love—and does it the hard way. Some critics have decried Edward's odyssey as rabbit torture—why does he have to get tossed overboard a cruise ship, buried in a dump, strung up in a garden, and separated from all who love him? I find that, sometimes, the more anguish a character endures, the more children empathize, vicariously experience the story, and open their hearts. From Edward Tulane, readers will understand that a heart can be broken and mended and broken again, and still survive. The writing is lyrical and laced with challenging vocabulary and singular ideas. Edward Tulane is an essential and memorable read-aloud, but children will also want to read it on their own, over and over, and pore over Bagram Ibatoulline's gorgeous paintings and halftone illustrations. (You can find the teacher's guide, interviews with the author and illustrator, and a reader's theater script of a climactic scene at www.edwardtulane.com.)

[Editor's note: watch Kate DiCamillo read from Edward Tulane and speak about the book (and more) in our Undercover Video series at www.slj.com/undercoverkate.]

4. The story takes a fresh approach to a familiar theme or plot and makes it seem new again, or breaks new ground because it's unlike anything else children have ever read.

Teachers and librarians, always on the lookout for novels that mirror the varied backgrounds of their students, will be overjoyed to discover Vandana Singh's whimsical and just plain fun Younguncle Comes to Town (Viking, 2006; Gr 2-5), illustrated by B. M. Kamath. In a small town in northern India, nine-year-old Sarita, her younger brother Ravi, and their shirt-chewing little sister—referred to simply as "the baby"—are enamored of their father's unconventional youngest brother who moves in with the family. The children are entranced with the tales of Younguncle's impetuous exploits: he saves his sister from marriage to her humorless fiancé; with the help of a troop of wild monkeys, he rescues the milkman's beloved cow, stolen by the town's richest, most corrupt merchant; and he makes good on his promise to bring the baby a hair from the tip of a tiger's tail. Read over the course of a week, Younguncle's six merry adventures, some tinged with a tantalizing bit of magical realism, will give listeners a taste of modern India, which they can research in books, encyclopedias, and on the Internet.

5. All of the supporting details are just right, so that plot, characters, and setting work together harmoniously, encouraging our willing suspension of disbelief; the ending is surprising, startling, and satisfying.

When you begin reading Diane Stanley's complexly plotted and elegant fairy tale novel, Bella at Midnight (HarperCollins, 2006; Gr 5-8), it sure seems like historical fiction. The countries of Brutanna and Moranmoor, which have been at war for 100 years, aren't familiar, but there are knights and royalty, and it's all reminiscent of medieval Europe. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of nine principals including Beatrice, the blacksmith's wife and Bella's kind foster mother; Prince Julian of Moranmoor, playmate and friend to Bella; and the ethereal, loyal, and steadfast Bella herself, raised as a peasant but actually the daughter of a coldhearted knight who cast her off when her mother died. It's not until midway through the novel before anything fantastical shows up—a magical green emerald ring that can show the face of a loved one—but that's when you realize with a start that this is a new take on the Cinderella story, complete with a pair of glass slippers. There's more to the story line than just the Cinderella motifs, though; as the two countries prepare for a truce, Prince Julian's brother, King Gilbert, plots a surprise attack that will put Julian's life at risk unless Bella can stop it. If you're planning a unit examining Cinderella stories in folklore and literature, this will mesh perfectly with Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted (HarperCollins, 1997), Philip Pullman's I Was a Rat! (Knopf, 2000), and with the 33 free verse poems narrated by Cinderella and everyone else who was at the ball in Laura Whipple's If the Shoe Fits: Voices from Cinderella (S & S, 2002).

6. The story exposes children to people of other races, cultures, and communities, and spurs them to broaden their worldviews.

Grace Lin's The Year of the Dog (Little, Brown, 2006; Gr 3-5) is winsome fiction based on the author's experiences as a Taiwanese-American girl growing up in a small New York town. Lin states in the author's note, "I wrote it because it was the book I wished I had had when I was growing up, a book that had someone like me in it." Pacy's narrative, told in brief episodic chapters, take readers through a year in her life, starting with a family celebration on Chinese New Year. According to the Chinese zodiac, during the Year of the Dog, you find your best friends, decide what your values are, and, maybe, figure out what you want to do when you grow up. All of these things come to pass for Pacy, who bonds with a new girl in her class, develops a crush on the cutest boy in school, acts the role of a munchkin in the class play, and finds her true talent as a writer and artist. Sprinkled throughout this amiable story are humorous and instructive family stories Pacy's mother tells the girl about growing up in Taiwan and coming to America, and Lin's small ink sketches. Bring in a Chinese calendar so children can find out something about the animal signs they were born under. Every family has stories; send your students to their relatives to ask about and record their tales, as Pacy does, and perhaps start their own story-filled autobiographies.

7. The book enables children to discuss difficult or sensitive issues, wrestle with personal ethics, reevaluate their opinions, and develop empathy for others.

Shelley Pearsall's historical novel, Crooked River (Knopf, 2005; Gr 5-8), set in a small settlement on the Ohio frontier of 1812, is based on an actual murder trial. Since Ma died, Rebecca Carver, 13, and Laura, 17, have been responsible for the upkeep of their small cabin, plus care of their three-year-old sister, Mercy. Rebecca's 11-year-old brother Lorenzo goads her into going up to the loft to see the "murderous savage" their Pa and other men have captured, and she is "full of petrification" to find out someone is being held there. Interspersed with her firsthand account are the thoughts, written as free verse, of the shackled captive called Indian John by the settlers, although his Ojibwa name is Amik. There are so many provocative discussion points to consider after reading this book. Students can trace Rebecca's change in attitude towards the man everyone has branded a murderer, and talk about the reasons for the hostility between settlers and Native Americans. They can discuss the presumption of Indian John's guilt on the part of the settlers, frightened for their safety, and the stark realities of frontier justice. How are Rebecca's gritty daily routines at odds with our romantic notions of noble pioneers? How is her life different from ours? Students can also research the history of the Ojibwa.

8. The book's content enhances the school curriculum and inspires writing possibilities or a range of meaningful extension activities.

While it's smart to vary the type of books you choose as read-alouds, it's also worthwhile to examine an author's body of work. Another noteworthy novel by Shelley Pearsall, and one that shows her versatility, is All of the Above (Little, Brown, 2006; Gr 4-7), set in an urban middle school in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Collins is a terrible teacher, according to his apathetic seventh grade math students. When he asks his inattentive class, "What would make you care about being here?" Terrell says, "Maybe some kinda contest." Bingo. Mr. Collins plans to have his students make the world's biggest paper pyramid, a "Stage 7" Sierpinski tetrahedron. In their personal narratives, split into alternating chapters, African-American students James, Rhondell, Sharice, and Marcel describe the obstacles and personal problems the math club members face while working to glue and piece together the 16,384 equilateral 4-sided pyramids. It's a life-changing experience for all of them. Math teachers will love this book for the geometry-equals-life lessons, and students will be eager to put together at least a stage-3 tetrahedron. You can also have your students research Waclaw Sierpinski and his fractals. A wealth of color photographs and information on building Sierpinski tetrahedrons can be found at www.public.asu.edu/~starlite. Little, Brown is planning to put a teacher's guide for the book on their Web site at: www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/children/educator_resources.html#teacher.

9. In a biography or nonfiction book, the narrative and presentation of facts flows so smoothly and interestingly, it feels as if you are reading fiction.

Sid Fleischman, known primarily as a writer of humorous historical adventure books, including his Newbery winner The Whipping Boy (Greenwillow, 1986), has been an amateur magician since childhood. So it's not too surprising that he's turned his verbal prestidigitation to an ebullient biography of his lifelong hero, the magician, Harry Houdini. In Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini (HarperCollins, 2006; Gr. 4-8), the facts of the man's life and work are presented with flair and legerdemain, and the captions for the many black-and-white photos are clever and entertaining. Fleischman doesn't flatter the vainglorious Houdini, he debunks some of his myths. All of the big escapes from handcuffs, ropes, and straight jackets are here, although the author puts readers on notice that he will not reveal how the magician swallowed needles, walked through brick walls, and made an elephant disappear. Introduce your awed children to 793.8, the magic section of the library, and have them work on their sleight of hand.

10. It has the power to bring great joy in a shared experience, to expand children's personal lifetime expectations, to connect them with the past, or even change their lives.

For the most handsome and hefty American history book of the year, one that will get kids all pumped up about our forefathers and mothers, pick up Jennifer Armstrong's The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History (Random House, 2006; Gr 3-8), with Roger Roth's dapper watercolors on almost every page. Starting with the 1565 founding of St. Augustine, FL, on up to the tale of the 2000 presidential election, Armstrong regales us with a sequential look at the American saga. Meet familiar folks—Ben Franklin, Sojourner Truth, Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt—and lesser known names, some revered and some scandalous—Uncle Sam Wilson, Lizzie Borden, Elvis Presley, and Maya Lin. Enthrall your children with each lively two- to four-page story, one a day. Iconic events, hoaxes, scandals, tragedies, and triumphs are all part of the mix: the first banana in New York, Henry David Thoreau's jail stay, the disastrous Donner Party, the Johnstown flood, and Orson Welles's broadcast of an adaptation of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds. Have your students research and write about some of the stories not included, such as the Challenger explosion in 1986, or an update of events since the year 2000, from the serious to the frivolous. Go to www.randomhouse.com/teachers/guides/title/ for a teacher's guide with suggestions.

Each time we pick a perfect read-aloud, then comes the best part—finding the book's singular voice and presenting it with verve and audacity. Does this mean we should read with expression? Sure it does. Teachers and librarians are student's reading role models and book tour guides. Every day we have the opportunity to take children on gorgeous and exciting literary journeys that can enrich and even change their lives. And ours, too.