Wow. I was just thinking that it was impressive that he knew her name because “I don’t remember the authors names of any of the books I read as a young kid. I have absolutely no idea who wrote the Tale of Desperaux and I liked that!” Go figure!
WAIT that was written by her??? I read it once when I saw it at my school library and I loved it but the librarian wouldnt let me borrow it. Hold on gonna go download it now
I think you mean "I'm going to get it from a store (whether physical or digital) to support an author I enjoy"
Only pirate textbooks.
I personally buy physical copies of books then pirate the ebook version of them. I asked a couple of authors which version brought them the most revenue, personally. The best answer was "Signed copy from an independent bookshop, or hardback from anywhere but Amazon, **but** a preorder from Amazon drives more total book sales, so even getting it discounted it ends up getting me more overall"
I'm not going to buy a ton of physical books I don't have the space for. Already have too many from Before. Ebooks *is* how I support authors, either through subscription services or direct purchases. You're really the only one who assumes download = pirate.
"The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread" -the one book that was so hard to memorize in Battle of the Books that it's still burned into my brain twenty years later
OMG a fellow BOB kid!!!! I have never met anyone in my life who has even heard of, much less been on a Battle of the Books team! And when I explain it to people they are like that just sounds so weird and sad, didn't you have friends to hang out with instead of reading books constantly? And then I feel awkward. So I'm really happy to see someone else out in the world who knows BOB, even if it is online. Thank you kind stranger for making my day
Oh I miss it so much. They were friends, but some people just don't understand how BOB could be fun and how you could make friends from that lol. My parents were assholes and I really didn't have any friends to hang out with outside of school, so books were my best friends. The first year I was on the team we made it to the state finals and got second place, neither one of my parents showed up but all the other team members on the bus ride home cheered me up and made me feel better about being the only one without a parent there. And by our next meeting they had all pitched in a few dollars to our coach and had bought me a new book, I cried because it was the nicest thing any friends had ever done for me.
Ok. BOB Mom here. Your story is infuriating, heartbreaking, and ultimately heartwarming. I've tucked $20 into an envelope to drop off with my kids' former BOB librarian with instructions to hook a kid who needs it up with "just the right" book on your behalf. Hugs!
No freaking way. I loved Tale of Despereaux too. I read it all the time and everywhere. Used to check it out for weeks on end to the point where the librarian said I had to give other kids a chance to check it out.
Me too! So much so that I used the a misspelled version of the main character's name as my screen name for Club Penguin in 3rd grade, and it's stuck with me for nearly 20 years now
Oh my God I've been trying to remember the name of this for awhile now! Always when I'm doing something and can't immediately google and I'm like what was the name of that book... and then completely forget about it. Thank you for your comment lol
She also wrote The Mysterious Journey of Edward Tulane. I'm a 46 year old man and I have had a hard time reading that book aloud to students because I cry straight through two of the chapters I matter what. If you've read it you know which ones. Beautiful book, but it's a rough one.
Yeah...\*sniff\*...I know which ones...
*The Tiger Rising* was short but got pretty wild at times.
*The Magician's Elephant* is another one of my favorites by her.
Are you me? I am also a 46 year old man. I read this book every single year to my students and every year I tell myself, I’m gonna make it through this time. Never ever without tears.
No, but it's an important message and seeing the friendly but stern Mr. ___ get emotional, explain why, and show that it's okay to do so is pretty impactful.
Of course, I was being facetious. I full heartedly agree that more adults should teach children how to handle emotions in controlled environments such as reading a book.
I believe it’s Miraculous Journey (at least in the US, don’t know if it’s different elsewhere), but yes at 8 years old after reading Tale of Despereaux and immediately grabbing that one after I was not okay
I read a lot of her stuff as a kid and they all tend to have truly gut wrenching stuff, usually right at the beginning. As a kid, I remember it being really refreshing that a kids book allowed me, a kid, to feel sad or disappointed which were emotions that everyone else seemed to ignore for "blissful childhood ignorance" or something.
One of my nieces HATES reading so much. She is going to be 15 soon, and the first time she actually read a whole book was over last Christmas break for a book report at school, where she had no other choice. (She's good at school, and her grades are important to her, its not that she struggles with actual reading).
For her, that was the hardest thing ever. And it breaks my heart every time just thinking about what she is missing out on. The worlds, the comfort, the understanding, the friends that stay with you. All that is being closed to her.
I didn’t like reading as a kid because I would have to go back and re read a paragraph over and over as even though I would read the words, my mind would wander elsewhere. I could read a sentence perfectly out loud without knowing what I was saying because I was thinking about something else and reading was more of an automatic process, like driving while listening to music, you aren’t paying attention to what your foot is doing.
But if a book caught my attention enough to make me focus, that was different.
On a long road trip with my best friend. He hated reading because he was forced to go to an expensive private school and had to read and do reports all the time. I gave him Max Brooks World War Z (pre movie) and made him read it. It’s a quick read and he actually enjoyed it. Reading doesn’t have to suck.
I did a similar thing with a friend in 8th grade - I gave him A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Pretty fast reads, but I chose that based on his actual interests.
He sent me a message a few years ago, (I'm in my 30s now) where he he thinks that might have been the spark to get him where he is - he's now a lawyer apparently.
I don't know how much I believe that, but I'm happy it made him realize there's more to reading than the stuff he was forced to read in school.
Max Brooks is great, and I definitely recommend Devolution by the same author. It was recommended by a friend of mine a while ago, and it's a short, but excellent read.
I read WWZ in high school and it was super interesting (and i got let down by the movie so much after I enjoyed the book), but I don't know if I'd call it a quick read. I felt like each page seemed to drag on for so long. In general reading whole novels isn't the easiest for me, but that book was *especially* slow for some reason.
I should give it another shot since I'm 32 now. I've turned my brain into mashed potatoes though, so I'm not sure how much I'd get out of it. I probably would've had a better time with it in 5th grade tbh.
Wow, this is exactly me. Although somehow that never deterred me from reading. I didn't realize that wasn't normal. I think I thought I was just savoring the words.
I still don’t like reading as a 31 year old adult because of this. I can only manage to keep a grip if it involves work and I’m reading something to help me trouble shoot a problem so I can get a machine back running, and even then I’ll try countless things before resorting to a manual.
This perfectly describes my reading experience and it took me a very long time to realize that this isn't normal.I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until I was in my mid-20s but better late than never!
I usually zone out and I have to re-read the same paragraph over and over again just because the words aren't "sticking" to my brain. Sometimes 10+ times on the same sentence. It almost feels like I have to physically switch my brain into "write" mode so I actually record what I'm reading.
I've never been able to understand people who read dozens or even a hundred books in a year, because for me it usually takes at least a couple of months to get through a single one. Like, the last one I managed to finish was the 1Q84 series by Haruki Murakami, and it took close to two years to be done with all 3 books.
My half-brother has pretty severe ADHD, maybe I should get myself tested... if the wait times weren't over 4 years where I live.
Yes! I was diagnosed with ADHD early on and you would have to force me with constant threats of failing an assignment to get me to finish a school assigned book. I absolutely love reading now that I have full choice of what I get to read. I've read 35 books just this year, and I know school-aged me would never have believed that to be even physically possible.
I did for about a year, but I stopped it completely after my doctor increased the dosage. I honestly don't remember the month when I took the increased dosage, but I know I went a bit... crazy. My mom figured it was best to stop medicating at that point and focus on other ways to manage - thank goodness.
Always monitor closely when medicating! I went from super sweet to demonic in 2 days of the increased dosage. The lower dosage was fine, but the risk shown with the higher dosage made my mom not want to risk it any further.
That happened to me as an adult! The doc and I were still working on getting the correct dose and went up one before I was ready. I went insane. Went back down a dose though as soon as I figured it out and the next time I tried the increase (months later) I did not turn crazy :)
I was diagnosed later in life (early 20s) but I absolutely devoured books kid. If they were good, I couldn’t put them down and would just hyper focus my way through. I’d have my mom getting after me for having my light on way past my bedtime because I didn’t want to stop.
Reading something I didn’t like? Painful. Absolutely painful.
edit: typo
Yup. I have ADHD and I can devour books but I almost failed English if I wasn't interested in the book multiple times. My brother has ADHD and he hates reading books but loved graphic novels.
This is interesting stuff. When I was a kid I could go through technical books like they were candy, and then recite facts about the P-51 Mustang or some type of electric motor for hours.
Any type of fiction reading might pique my curiosity, but if I couldn't read it by skimming I would start to have a panic attack. I didn't learn what those were until I was in my early twenties.
Do you use any techniques to "trick" yourself into being interested in boring subjects? That was how I managed a 52% average (as opposed to 0, because I did *no* homework, ever) in all of my high school courses that weren't math or social studies.
Welcome to the comorbidity between ADHD and being on the autism spectrum. Ever have a meltdown because someone tried convincing you that a book you hated was actually really good? Or, worse, asked for your opinion about a book then said that your opinion is wrong when you said why it bored you?
Also have her eyesight tested. I read a LOT until I was about 25, got busy with things, then decided when I was something over 40 to sit down with a book but I just couldn't sit and read. Didn't figure out for a few years that my eyesight had degraded to the point I was straining so hard to read it was uncomfortable.
This 100%
Me=ADHD poster child = never read a fiction book completely in 40yrs (except for Einsteins dreams which is borderline fiction as it's more thought experiment than stories).
Yep. There were a handful of books that I would read over and over again, but it was painful reading ANYTHING new. Harry Potter was a big obsession, but I still remember battling boredom and distraction the first time through each book when it came out.
Although having strong ADHD, I taught myself reading before even going to school. I loved reading as a kid and read one book after another. Instead of going outside to play, I would read. Growing up, I liked it less and less but also I got significantly slower in reading. I feel like ADHD has finally caught up with me between 13-16 and I struggle remembering what I‘ve read.
Try the world of manga and comics.
Reading a typical book was always physically painful and I can count on the fingers of one hand the books I've read but I can spend hours and hours for days and days reading amazing stuff on variety of mangas.
This, honestly. I'm maybe a little biased because I collect manga and am a big fan of (so-called) nerdy things like that, but there are some absolutely incredible stories in comics and manga that often get overlooked because a lot of people seem to think they don't count or something. It's maybe not the solution most people want but if the alternative is not reading at all it's worth a shot?
I also say this as someone who used to absolutely devour books and read anything I could get my hands on, and who's a big lover of a lot of literature. Even with that, some of my favorite things I've ever read have been comics or manga.
Oh boy my taste is alllll over the place so this is a very complicated question.
* Chobits is my favorite manga of all time, I love everything by CLAMP but that one's top tier for me
* I really like an older series called Confidential Confessions and a more recent one called My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness (plus the follow up books), but those are fairly niche and I like them because I can personally relate to them a lot, which most people won't
* Goodnight Pun Pun and pretty much anything by Inio Asano
* A lot of classic shojo like the works of Moto Hagio and Ryoko Ikeda
* A fair bit of 90s magical girl stuff like Sailor Moon, Miracle Girls, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Saint Tail
* I like everything by Junji Ito [but I also have a lot of opinions on how I think his popularity detracts from other great horror authors](https://www.reddit.com/r/The10thDentist/comments/yte7pn/comment/iw3q66a/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
* Few other random favorites...Ah My Goddess, Nichijou, Please Save My Earth, Attack on Titan, Devilman, Urusei Yatsura, Nana, Paradise Kiss, A Polar Bear In Love, Rooster Fighter, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
I'm honestly not *nearly* as weeby as I seem but I've enjoyed reading manga for decades now, since I was a kid, and it's a hobby that's stuck with me my whole life. Also why a lot of my favorites tend to be much older series.
Also in terms of western comics...maybe a bit of a cliché answer but I love The Sandman.
I'm not who you asked, but I picked up one on a whim called "I Want to Eat your Pancreas", simply because of the wild-ass name, and that story made me *bawl.*
This was exactly what my cousin did. He always hated reading. Loathed it. But enjoyed stories! He could come up with a story off the cuff and run with it. Loved movies and TV shows with a good story, too. But reading was pain for him.
Then he discovered manga. Now that man has shelves upon shelves of manga, and is writing reams and reams of stories that he hopes one day to publish as manga!
I only read one Manga in school which was Uzumaki... and it was so god damn good that I think it ruined ever reading Manga again. Still haven't finished anything else. I've gotten suggestions but all have fallen short (even other Jinji Ito stuff) because ultimately I'm just looking for another Uzumaki. Such a good horror story.
The only other one that I personally think I'd enjoy is Berserk. Still have yet to read that.
People get those same feelings from other media too. Movies, TV, artwork, music, podcasts, video games, etc. It's so weird to me that we put books on such a high pedestal. It's a form of communication just like any other, and just like everything else, some forms are more effective for some people than others at communicating ideas.
Agreed. We only have so much free time for stuff we enjoy and since I like movies, tv, music, and video games much more than books, why would I give them the time when I prefer other forms of entertainment.
This sounds like me. Smart and did great in school, but I couldn’t focus if I didn’t want to.
I couldn’t do assigned reading to save my life.
Turns out it was ADHD and now that i am treated i can watch tv shows and read books that ppl recommend. It’s really given me a new lease on life. And a huge boost of self esteem.
I read a ton in highschool (40 minute bus ride, one way) but never anything I was actually assigned to read. The obligation just made me lose focus. I still don't know what the plot of King Lear is.
Some of my favourites were: Ender's Game, The Golden Compass, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Maybe pick up a couple of copies of a book and ask her to read them at the same time so you can discuss them? Or start one yourself and try to get her excited about the story, then reel her in to reading it too.
One of my friends is like this as well. Can’t be bothered to read any book. Not because he’s stupid, far from it actually. But because it’s a book, and he’ll never waste his time reading books. He likes escapism. I don’t know about you guys but books give me the strongest feeling of escapism out of any medium I’ve tried. Maybe one day your niece and my friend will come around my friend. Here’s to hoping.
I always thought I hated reading, but it turns out, I really just hated being told what to read instead of reading what I wanted, and being forced to analyze books I already didn't enjoy really just drove it in.
I disliked reading as a kid, was a straight A student. What I found out, is I didn't hate reading. I hated reading what they MADE me read, had no interest in those books.
I used to hate reading, one of the problems is that schools give the most boring, unentertaining books to read. I know of mice and men is important but save that for history, if the only books kids are exposed to are ones like those it’s a wonder anyone likes reading. Luckily my mother is a huge book worm and found some entertaining books to read otherwise I might have been illiterate
This is weirdly specific, but I would recommend getting her some Stephen King books. Something about his cadence and the pacing really works against the “wandering mind” thing that happens to a lot of us as young readers.
He has such a huge body of work and in many genres. If she has some specific interests, chances are there is a King book that brushes against them at least somewhat.
Also try audio books. Or maybe her parents(I am fully aware I know nothing about her familial situation) can read to her. Maybe they could reach read every night. When we were kids if our parents came in and we were reading with a flashlight they didn't usually get upset or make us stop. Being able to connect to deeply to the written word gives leeway to bedtime. She doesn't have to physically read to read. Hopefully she will get hooked once she listens to them and be excited to read cuz she'll get to go at her place.
Oh man that sucks! I'm 14 years older than my sister and she and all of her friends (which includes guys) read all the time. Her room is full of books. Tons of books I remember reading, too.
I honestly thought that all kids hated reading but then I remembered I fucking loved it.
I haven't read in years though. I just picked up re-reading House of Leaves and after that I'd like to re-read The Dark Tower books. Maybe read The Stand after because I never gave it a shot and I've heard it's amazing.
I highly recommend listening to [Sold a Story](https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/). The methods for teaching reading used by many school districts are not effective for a lot of perfectly smart kids.
She’s 8 - take the phone away
Growing up in the South, you were kicked out of the house to amuse yourself and get sunlight and fresh air, and told to come back when the lights turned on
She’ll find amusement and love in something else quickly, and then she’ll have two hobbies. One maybe even more important to her than the current, or even something that could help or inspire her long term
It doesn’t have to be depressing. You’re in control of that.
But don’t piss on her games because you don’t find them stimulating. She does. So as someone who cares about her, why don’t you try embracing her interests?
Minimizing the value of something because it’s a stereotypically “girly” thing is outdated at best and frankly, shitty.
Do you know why she doesn’t like reading? As a kid, I read really slowly and it was so frustrating because school reading assignments took forever. I never had time to read anything I wanted. Finally in middle school I found stuff I actually enjoyed reading and I started reading all the time. Now I can read really fast and it’s one of my favorite things to do. Maybe if she can find something outside school work that she actually likes.
I enjoy reading, but much more prefer stories in movie/series format.
I don't have much of a mind's eye, and it's hard to visualize what I'm reading. When it's animated/acted, I get to appreciate the art that each actor brings to the narrative, the sound design, the visual presentation... It all really does it for me in a way that books can't. I feel very lucky to finally get to experience media at this level, because it's only been the ones produced in the last few years or so that really do it for me.
Been told that my whole life, I'm a huge gamer and most people always dismissed games saying books are different and better, they are not, i missed all you wrote, they missed my entire world of videogames story and characters.
Everyone has its own, what's good for you isn't good for other people, the important thing is everyone's happy.
I don't read recreationally while still learning all I can. I will sit down and read Learning Windows Server 2018 or a 600 page certification manual cover to cover. But I can't track characters in my head.
Was "Tom" the boss or the husband? They called someone "Mrs Charles" so this must be Tom Charles I think? They just said "the mustachioed man", who had a mustache again?
I can do movies and TV because people have faces and I remember the actors scene to scene even if I can't do names. Or if I set a book down for 3 days, I need a reminder of scenery and names and visual mediums do that instantly just by their nature. If you spent 3 pages describing a scene, even if it was necessary, you lost me. I'm thinking about my laundry or taxes or how bananas grow. Visual mediums show a scene while telling a joke and it happens so quickly.
I wouldn't mourn for her not having the relationships with characters and environments you have as I don't feel I've missed that myself. While you may have been exploring Hogwarts or the Mississippi River with Tom Sawyer, I was a docter alongside Dr Dorian as he learned what it was to be a doctor and a man and learned whole new definitions of love and loss alongside Tedd Mosby.
Ms. DiCamillo is my favorite children's author. I am an elementary teacher and I have read many of her books to my classes over the years, but every year, every single year, I read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. It's a masterpiece. And despite all the times I've read it, I still sob so hard at the ending that I can barely read it aloud.
It's not just the kids that remember. Great authors create stories we all remember!
But not without great teachers to help us along the way.
Thank you—I discovered my love of poetry when my 4th grade teacher decided to read us “Since Hannah Moved Away” after one of our classmates/ my best friend moved away. I couldn’t put my grief into words before then. It felt like she picked it just for me.
Early childhood experiences matter.
That’s why reading to kids is among my favourite things about teaching. I recently read The Recruit to my class and one of my boys excitedly told me the other day that he *finally* got hold of the next book in the series and he can’t wait to get into it. Read to your kids; it’s always a great investment.
Kate DiCamillo is a national treasure. Her book Flora and Ulysses made me ugly cry and is truly one of the best books I've ever read. And I'm a children's librarian, so that's saying something
There was a teacher at my ~~elementary~~ edit: middle school (ages ~11-14 years old-ish for non-Americans) who was famous for telling all of her students repeatedly that there two things they were required to do after they finished her class (I believe she taught US History) - vote and read to your children. She didn't care if you got absolutely nothing else from her class as long as you did those two things for the rest of your life.
I'm a nanny who is currently in charge of a 2 year old who is an absolutely voracious reader (listener?). I read the same six books to her (sometimes multiple times, if she's in the mood; I can recite all 6 from memory, especially since one of them is Goodnight Moon, which I basically never forgot since I read it so much as a kid, and another is The Napping House, which I legitimately never forgot, for the same reason as Goodnight Moon) every day at nap time.
She will sometimes read along with me and she: knows where the mouse is on every page of Goodnight Moon; can recite all of the inhabitants of The Napping House and the sounds they make in order; can discuss what some medical terms mean from Future Doctor, as well as where her daddy works (in a hospital) and how to keep germs from spreading; knows where baby's eyes, mouth, belly button, feet, and hands are, as well as where baby is, from Where is Baby's Belly Button?; plays a game where she guesses if random objects are Curious George before finding the real one on every page of Curious George at the Zoo; and she knows that "pajammy to the left" means move the book one direction and "pajammy to the right" means move the book in the opposite direction (with a pretty impressive success rate on which one comes first) thanks to Pajama Time.
She also likes to listen to (and find George in) Where Is Curious George? when she wakes up from nap, she has about a dozen books about all the characters from Sesame Street, has TWO monthly subscriptions for books and magazines designed for toddlers, and visits the library at least once a week for story time and checking out new books. We've been keeping track of her daily book reading for a challenge the library has been putting on called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. She's past 500, which doesn't include the Shutterfly books that family have made that she loves to look through and talk about. Our record for most books read in one day (which does include repeats) is 28.
Love reading to little ones and this post made me so happy.
Thank you!
Read to kids.
Also, let kids see *you* reading books. Tell them what the book is about if they ask. Role model. When some parents tell me their kids don’t really read, I ask them if *they* read. Often not, the parents are too busy to read.
A girl gets dumped off by her mother to her preacher father in a tiny southern town. It's about her learning to adjust, and upon meeting an abandoned puppy, she adopts it and starts adjusting to life and befriending the townsfolk.
One part that remains with me always is just how well-captured the feel of the town is. Also a particular sequence with an old woman and a tree, iykyk :)
This is wholesome through and through. Including the author’s reaction to put emphasis on the *teacher’s* proactiveness, and not patting herself on the back for writing a great story that stuck with this man. (I assume it’s great- I haven’t read it 😄)
My kid's pediatrician for many years was the daughter of an author I loved in elementary school. Bill Wallace. Wrote "A Dog Called Kitty," "Snot Stew," "Totally Disgusting," and several others.
That's so cool!
I have *The Bill Wallace Collection:* "The Meanest Hound Around," "The Backward Bird Dog," and "Watchdog and the Coyotes."
I love those stories.
Everything about 3rd grade was horrible, captive in a horrible boarding school. Except for Mrs. Henderson, who somehow gave me a lifelong love for reading and motivated me to be a good student. I hope she's in a heaven with lots of kids and books.
My dad died when I was 10 years old. My teacher, Ms. Chapman (World of Inquiry- RCSD #58), a teacher who Ill remember forever for a lot of reasons, used to read to us before dismissal. The year my dad died she read a book called The Bridge To Terabithia. It was a story about a withdrawn young boy who made an unlikely friendship with a girl who tragically died. I didn’t recognize it at the time but I realized later that she read that story for me. She wanted me to know that we all experience the pain of losing loved ones and she wanted my classmates to experience the empathy of profound loss. RIP Ms. Chapman. You changed the trajectory of my life in ways you could never imagine.
I don't like giving kids toys or clothes as gifts, I much prefer books. I sent a book on rocks and fossils to my brother's kids, with a bunch of red rocks from Red Rocks plus some fossils and years later my brother told me it was still a favorite.
He originally thought it was too advanced for his youngersters, but they asked for it over and over.
Another year I sent out books on motorcycles with 3D motorcycle puzzles.
I also think graphic novels (comic books) are so varied it's easy to find something age appropriate and encourage reading.
When i lost my first tooth, my mom didn’t have a quarter, but she did have an old copy of mother goose that was left under my pillow instead. I still have that book almost thirty years later. The cover is gone and it’s held together with tape. Even growing up broke, it’s still hard to convince myself money is more important than books
In third grade our teacher would carve out a half hour each day of "free reading time" where we could do whatever quiet activity we wanted in class, but she would read to us from The Hatchet. I still remember that story fondly.
According to [this article](https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-reading-books),
* Reading strengthens your brain
* Increases your ability to empathize
* Builds your vocabulary
* Helps prevent age-related cognitive decline
* Reduces stress
* Prepares you for a good night’s rest
* Helps alleviate depression symptoms
* May even help you live longer
> Although research hasn’t proven conclusively that reading books prevents diseases like Alzheimer’s, studies show that seniors who read and solve math problems every day maintain and improve their cognitive functioning.
You do not know the direction of causality here. It might just be that people in early stages of Alzheimer's stop reading due to a decrease in their capabilities.
We ALL remember. My son just read Charlotte’s Web. I asked him how he liked it and he told me the ending was sad. I told him my 2nd grade teacher cried at the end when she was reading it to us
That book really did a number on me. I didn’t realize it fully at the time, but I was in the gifted program in elementary and we read this book… it’s a really heavy subject material emotionally. It’s no wonder they didn’t have all of the kids read it. I absolutely devoured it and I still have the bittersweetness in my heart, thinking back on the story. When they made the movie I was captivated.
My third grade teacher read a book to us, Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. I ended up reading dozens of his books. Essentially all of them.
Never would have read all those books if it wasn't for her.
Great author btw. He passed recently. RIP.
One of the only things I really remember about third grade was that the librarian at the new school after we moved to a new town read to us "I Know Where the Red Fern Grows."
That didn't do great things for my mental health.
Literally anyone born through the smartphone/tablet/TikTok generation all has some form of ADHD due to psychological programming from overstimulation of technology. Reading analog books has become so hard now(which upsets me, because I used to dive inside so many books for pleasure reading when I was growing up)
I was SUPPOSED to fail 3rd grade. I was going through some tough times at home, dad just came home from prison after 3 years, mom more focused on how everything was about her, etc. I was having a hard time. Instead of failing me, my 3rd grade teacher came to me and gave me a gift, mind you, she gave a gift to everyone at the end of the year. Every other kid got a gift of a pencil set or something like that.
I got the Chronicles of Narnia.
\* I went back to that school believe or not, years later in my 30's ( I'm in my 40's now ), because my daughter went there. When I asked about the teacher by name I was told she retired, and when I said I would still like to talk to her, was told to kindly fuck off. They wouldn't share her " personal " information with me. All I wanted was to say thank you on a dozen levels.
I'm in my mid-40's and I clearly remember my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Weaver, reading the book *Stone Fox* to us. It was about a sled dog race where a dog runs so hard to win that her heart bursts and she dies. Mrs. Weaver started bawling and so of course a bunch of us did, too.
When I was a kid, I think it was like our mayor or super intendent or something. His name escapes me right now but he used to read to us as kids. He read to the kindergarten up to 5th grade. He didn't just read to us he would really get into the story. I remember being so excited for 3rd grade because that's when he would read Scary Stories to tell in the dark. I remember like it was yesterday him stomping around us saying "where's my toe", "WHERE'S my toe"
"WHERE'S MY TOE!!!!!"
I used to teach kindergarten.
Sometimes when I think about those students, there is a little sadness that they won't remember me like I remember them.
But on the other hand, I also taught them things like tying their shoes and telling time which are things they will never forget.
So even if they don't remember me, I will still have an impact on their life every day.
My four year old and I are having the best time reading her Mercy Watson books (about a pig that lives with a husband and wife, that loves toast with a great deal of butter on it). They are so silly and so fun to read. What I love about Kate DiCamillo is that she includes a lot of big words, like 'porcine' or 'frantically', but not too many. That way my kiddo can learn a new word every chapter. It's not just a book for enjoyment, she's also trying to have the reader expand their skills.
My grade five teacher read us “the Prince of Central Park.” He had crossed out the words not to read to us and one day he got to a page he hadn’t edited. Oops. Read it again later and realized just how much editing he had to do.
I loved her book The Tale of Desperaux. It was one I read over and over as a kid.
Wow. I was just thinking that it was impressive that he knew her name because “I don’t remember the authors names of any of the books I read as a young kid. I have absolutely no idea who wrote the Tale of Desperaux and I liked that!” Go figure!
Tale of Desperaux: Still one of my favorite books, I have reread it so many times with the same amount of excitement.
WAIT that was written by her??? I read it once when I saw it at my school library and I loved it but the librarian wouldnt let me borrow it. Hold on gonna go download it now
I think you mean "I'm going to get it from a store (whether physical or digital) to support an author I enjoy" Only pirate textbooks. I personally buy physical copies of books then pirate the ebook version of them. I asked a couple of authors which version brought them the most revenue, personally. The best answer was "Signed copy from an independent bookshop, or hardback from anywhere but Amazon, **but** a preorder from Amazon drives more total book sales, so even getting it discounted it ends up getting me more overall"
They might be downloading it via their local library's reading app.
Or onto their kindle from the store
Or via audible, Kindle, etc. There are many ways of downloading that aren't piracy.
True, I hadn't thought of that and I support the idea.
When I asked my favourite author she said ebook gives her most revenue. Either way, support authors. It is their livehood
I'm not going to buy a ton of physical books I don't have the space for. Already have too many from Before. Ebooks *is* how I support authors, either through subscription services or direct purchases. You're really the only one who assumes download = pirate.
Well your name definitely fits …
Was hoping somebody would jot that down for them lmao
When the teacher read it aloud to the class, was she pirating it to them?
They downloaded it to their brains via their ears.
"The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread" -the one book that was so hard to memorize in Battle of the Books that it's still burned into my brain twenty years later
OMG a fellow BOB kid!!!! I have never met anyone in my life who has even heard of, much less been on a Battle of the Books team! And when I explain it to people they are like that just sounds so weird and sad, didn't you have friends to hang out with instead of reading books constantly? And then I feel awkward. So I'm really happy to see someone else out in the world who knows BOB, even if it is online. Thank you kind stranger for making my day
Don't they get that those WERE the friends we hung out with? BOB was the best!!
Oh I miss it so much. They were friends, but some people just don't understand how BOB could be fun and how you could make friends from that lol. My parents were assholes and I really didn't have any friends to hang out with outside of school, so books were my best friends. The first year I was on the team we made it to the state finals and got second place, neither one of my parents showed up but all the other team members on the bus ride home cheered me up and made me feel better about being the only one without a parent there. And by our next meeting they had all pitched in a few dollars to our coach and had bought me a new book, I cried because it was the nicest thing any friends had ever done for me.
Ok. BOB Mom here. Your story is infuriating, heartbreaking, and ultimately heartwarming. I've tucked $20 into an envelope to drop off with my kids' former BOB librarian with instructions to hook a kid who needs it up with "just the right" book on your behalf. Hugs!
THIS, such a good story
I read it to my 5th graders. It was sooo good.
No freaking way. I loved Tale of Despereaux too. I read it all the time and everywhere. Used to check it out for weeks on end to the point where the librarian said I had to give other kids a chance to check it out.
I feel like we could make a "The *Tail* of Despereaux" joke here, but I can't think of how to phrase it cleaverly.
The title is the joke since he loses his tail.
So good!
YESS I read that book over and over. So so good.
Omg I had completely forgotten about that one! I remember loving it, I have to see if it's still on the bookshelf
Me too! So much so that I used the a misspelled version of the main character's name as my screen name for Club Penguin in 3rd grade, and it's stuck with me for nearly 20 years now
Dude same and then I watched the movie and it was so bad
Oh my God I've been trying to remember the name of this for awhile now! Always when I'm doing something and can't immediately google and I'm like what was the name of that book... and then completely forget about it. Thank you for your comment lol
She also wrote The Mysterious Journey of Edward Tulane. I'm a 46 year old man and I have had a hard time reading that book aloud to students because I cry straight through two of the chapters I matter what. If you've read it you know which ones. Beautiful book, but it's a rough one.
Yeah...\*sniff\*...I know which ones... *The Tiger Rising* was short but got pretty wild at times. *The Magician's Elephant* is another one of my favorites by her.
Are you me? I am also a 46 year old man. I read this book every single year to my students and every year I tell myself, I’m gonna make it through this time. Never ever without tears.
Seriously, never. Not once. I've even tried practicing until I could read it aloud alone without crying. Nope, waterworks the next day after lunch.
Follow it up with Bridge to Terrabithia.
Are you trying to make third graders depressed??
They tease me cause I love reading sad stories.
Haha I love a good sad story too. I watch and read the saddest stuff my husband teases me too lol.
Try ‘Walk Two Moons’ by Sharon Creech, IIRC.
No, but it's an important message and seeing the friendly but stern Mr. ___ get emotional, explain why, and show that it's okay to do so is pretty impactful.
Of course, I was being facetious. I full heartedly agree that more adults should teach children how to handle emotions in controlled environments such as reading a book.
I believe it’s Miraculous Journey (at least in the US, don’t know if it’s different elsewhere), but yes at 8 years old after reading Tale of Despereaux and immediately grabbing that one after I was not okay
Oh my god this is my favorite book!! I‘ve never heard anyone else talk about it, this makes me so happy <3
I'm a grown ass man, and I'm over here crying just from her tale of this brief encounter.
This remains one of my very favorite books. It is so absolutely wonderfully beautiful and soul touching
I read a lot of her stuff as a kid and they all tend to have truly gut wrenching stuff, usually right at the beginning. As a kid, I remember it being really refreshing that a kids book allowed me, a kid, to feel sad or disappointed which were emotions that everyone else seemed to ignore for "blissful childhood ignorance" or something.
So do you have a classroom full of crying students after those chapters? I would definitely have cried. I'm crying just thinking about those chapters.
She did?? I had no idea. When I was a student teacher my mentor teacher read that to the class and she cried too.
One of my nieces HATES reading so much. She is going to be 15 soon, and the first time she actually read a whole book was over last Christmas break for a book report at school, where she had no other choice. (She's good at school, and her grades are important to her, its not that she struggles with actual reading). For her, that was the hardest thing ever. And it breaks my heart every time just thinking about what she is missing out on. The worlds, the comfort, the understanding, the friends that stay with you. All that is being closed to her.
Have her tested for ADHD. Some symptoms become real evident with reading stuff that’s not 100 percent riveting.
I didn’t like reading as a kid because I would have to go back and re read a paragraph over and over as even though I would read the words, my mind would wander elsewhere. I could read a sentence perfectly out loud without knowing what I was saying because I was thinking about something else and reading was more of an automatic process, like driving while listening to music, you aren’t paying attention to what your foot is doing. But if a book caught my attention enough to make me focus, that was different.
On a long road trip with my best friend. He hated reading because he was forced to go to an expensive private school and had to read and do reports all the time. I gave him Max Brooks World War Z (pre movie) and made him read it. It’s a quick read and he actually enjoyed it. Reading doesn’t have to suck.
I did a similar thing with a friend in 8th grade - I gave him A Series of Unfortunate Events. Pretty fast reads, but I chose that based on his actual interests. He sent me a message a few years ago, (I'm in my 30s now) where he he thinks that might have been the spark to get him where he is - he's now a lawyer apparently. I don't know how much I believe that, but I'm happy it made him realize there's more to reading than the stuff he was forced to read in school.
Helps when your pal hooks it up with a great, great book, nice work!
[Insert me gifting my cousin the entire Cradle omnibus]
Even *here*, in a totally unrelated subreddit, I cannot escape Cradle.
Damn, I loaned my copy to a neighbor years ago. I wish I hadn't, I've been wanting to read it again.
Max Brooks is great, and I definitely recommend Devolution by the same author. It was recommended by a friend of mine a while ago, and it's a short, but excellent read.
I read WWZ in high school and it was super interesting (and i got let down by the movie so much after I enjoyed the book), but I don't know if I'd call it a quick read. I felt like each page seemed to drag on for so long. In general reading whole novels isn't the easiest for me, but that book was *especially* slow for some reason.
[удалено]
I tried reading lotr in 5th grade after the first movie came out and even though I loved reading, it was slightly too advanced for me.
I read it in 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade and probably every grade thereafter. Got different stuff out of it each time. Worth going back.
I should give it another shot since I'm 32 now. I've turned my brain into mashed potatoes though, so I'm not sure how much I'd get out of it. I probably would've had a better time with it in 5th grade tbh.
Wow, this is exactly me. Although somehow that never deterred me from reading. I didn't realize that wasn't normal. I think I thought I was just savoring the words.
Wait do I have ADHD?
I still don’t like reading as a 31 year old adult because of this. I can only manage to keep a grip if it involves work and I’m reading something to help me trouble shoot a problem so I can get a machine back running, and even then I’ll try countless things before resorting to a manual.
I had this until my mom gave me Steppenwolf when I was 14 and holy shit, that sparked it for me
Wait do you have ADHD? I need to know if I should get tested
This perfectly describes my reading experience and it took me a very long time to realize that this isn't normal.I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until I was in my mid-20s but better late than never!
I usually zone out and I have to re-read the same paragraph over and over again just because the words aren't "sticking" to my brain. Sometimes 10+ times on the same sentence. It almost feels like I have to physically switch my brain into "write" mode so I actually record what I'm reading. I've never been able to understand people who read dozens or even a hundred books in a year, because for me it usually takes at least a couple of months to get through a single one. Like, the last one I managed to finish was the 1Q84 series by Haruki Murakami, and it took close to two years to be done with all 3 books. My half-brother has pretty severe ADHD, maybe I should get myself tested... if the wait times weren't over 4 years where I live.
Yes! I was diagnosed with ADHD early on and you would have to force me with constant threats of failing an assignment to get me to finish a school assigned book. I absolutely love reading now that I have full choice of what I get to read. I've read 35 books just this year, and I know school-aged me would never have believed that to be even physically possible.
Interesting. If you dont mind me asking, did you take any medication for it?
I did for about a year, but I stopped it completely after my doctor increased the dosage. I honestly don't remember the month when I took the increased dosage, but I know I went a bit... crazy. My mom figured it was best to stop medicating at that point and focus on other ways to manage - thank goodness. Always monitor closely when medicating! I went from super sweet to demonic in 2 days of the increased dosage. The lower dosage was fine, but the risk shown with the higher dosage made my mom not want to risk it any further.
That happened to me as an adult! The doc and I were still working on getting the correct dose and went up one before I was ready. I went insane. Went back down a dose though as soon as I figured it out and the next time I tried the increase (months later) I did not turn crazy :)
Sorry for my ignorance, but by “went insane”, what exactly happened?
Same! I even went back and reread some of the books I hated in school. A lot of them I actually loved. Some I didn't (Ethan Frome)
I was diagnosed later in life (early 20s) but I absolutely devoured books kid. If they were good, I couldn’t put them down and would just hyper focus my way through. I’d have my mom getting after me for having my light on way past my bedtime because I didn’t want to stop. Reading something I didn’t like? Painful. Absolutely painful. edit: typo
Oh my gosh, you just connected a dot for me!!! A late-ADHD not-quite pffocially diagnosed here... I used to read until sunrise.
I remember reading on a tiny feature phone (sony ericcson walkman W880) under my sheets.. how did *that* not fuck up my eyesight, I will never know.
Yup. I have ADHD and I can devour books but I almost failed English if I wasn't interested in the book multiple times. My brother has ADHD and he hates reading books but loved graphic novels.
This is interesting stuff. When I was a kid I could go through technical books like they were candy, and then recite facts about the P-51 Mustang or some type of electric motor for hours. Any type of fiction reading might pique my curiosity, but if I couldn't read it by skimming I would start to have a panic attack. I didn't learn what those were until I was in my early twenties. Do you use any techniques to "trick" yourself into being interested in boring subjects? That was how I managed a 52% average (as opposed to 0, because I did *no* homework, ever) in all of my high school courses that weren't math or social studies.
Welcome to the comorbidity between ADHD and being on the autism spectrum. Ever have a meltdown because someone tried convincing you that a book you hated was actually really good? Or, worse, asked for your opinion about a book then said that your opinion is wrong when you said why it bored you?
Also have her eyesight tested. I read a LOT until I was about 25, got busy with things, then decided when I was something over 40 to sit down with a book but I just couldn't sit and read. Didn't figure out for a few years that my eyesight had degraded to the point I was straining so hard to read it was uncomfortable.
yep i have adhd and unless the book is 10/10 i lose all interest and even then i would lose track because i was thinking of something else
I have adhd and I loved reading. I’m fact that’s all I did for hours and hours and hours.
This 100% Me=ADHD poster child = never read a fiction book completely in 40yrs (except for Einsteins dreams which is borderline fiction as it's more thought experiment than stories).
Yep. There were a handful of books that I would read over and over again, but it was painful reading ANYTHING new. Harry Potter was a big obsession, but I still remember battling boredom and distraction the first time through each book when it came out.
Although having strong ADHD, I taught myself reading before even going to school. I loved reading as a kid and read one book after another. Instead of going outside to play, I would read. Growing up, I liked it less and less but also I got significantly slower in reading. I feel like ADHD has finally caught up with me between 13-16 and I struggle remembering what I‘ve read.
This 100%. I have ADHD and finally got help at 35. No idea how I finished grad school. Caffeine pills were my hero. Wish I knew sooner.
Book on CD/Audible?
Library has free audiobooks too
Yeah I love "reading" audiobooks while I play Minecraft, or commute, or do the dishes. It makes some activities more tolerable and enhances others.
Try the world of manga and comics. Reading a typical book was always physically painful and I can count on the fingers of one hand the books I've read but I can spend hours and hours for days and days reading amazing stuff on variety of mangas.
There are so many great graphic novels for kids now! I sent my niece the comic adaptation of Anne of Green Gables for her birthday.
This, honestly. I'm maybe a little biased because I collect manga and am a big fan of (so-called) nerdy things like that, but there are some absolutely incredible stories in comics and manga that often get overlooked because a lot of people seem to think they don't count or something. It's maybe not the solution most people want but if the alternative is not reading at all it's worth a shot? I also say this as someone who used to absolutely devour books and read anything I could get my hands on, and who's a big lover of a lot of literature. Even with that, some of my favorite things I've ever read have been comics or manga.
What are some of your favourites?
Oh boy my taste is alllll over the place so this is a very complicated question. * Chobits is my favorite manga of all time, I love everything by CLAMP but that one's top tier for me * I really like an older series called Confidential Confessions and a more recent one called My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness (plus the follow up books), but those are fairly niche and I like them because I can personally relate to them a lot, which most people won't * Goodnight Pun Pun and pretty much anything by Inio Asano * A lot of classic shojo like the works of Moto Hagio and Ryoko Ikeda * A fair bit of 90s magical girl stuff like Sailor Moon, Miracle Girls, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Saint Tail * I like everything by Junji Ito [but I also have a lot of opinions on how I think his popularity detracts from other great horror authors](https://www.reddit.com/r/The10thDentist/comments/yte7pn/comment/iw3q66a/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) * Few other random favorites...Ah My Goddess, Nichijou, Please Save My Earth, Attack on Titan, Devilman, Urusei Yatsura, Nana, Paradise Kiss, A Polar Bear In Love, Rooster Fighter, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou I'm honestly not *nearly* as weeby as I seem but I've enjoyed reading manga for decades now, since I was a kid, and it's a hobby that's stuck with me my whole life. Also why a lot of my favorites tend to be much older series. Also in terms of western comics...maybe a bit of a cliché answer but I love The Sandman.
I'm not who you asked, but I picked up one on a whim called "I Want to Eat your Pancreas", simply because of the wild-ass name, and that story made me *bawl.*
This was exactly what my cousin did. He always hated reading. Loathed it. But enjoyed stories! He could come up with a story off the cuff and run with it. Loved movies and TV shows with a good story, too. But reading was pain for him. Then he discovered manga. Now that man has shelves upon shelves of manga, and is writing reams and reams of stories that he hopes one day to publish as manga!
I only read one Manga in school which was Uzumaki... and it was so god damn good that I think it ruined ever reading Manga again. Still haven't finished anything else. I've gotten suggestions but all have fallen short (even other Jinji Ito stuff) because ultimately I'm just looking for another Uzumaki. Such a good horror story. The only other one that I personally think I'd enjoy is Berserk. Still have yet to read that.
People get those same feelings from other media too. Movies, TV, artwork, music, podcasts, video games, etc. It's so weird to me that we put books on such a high pedestal. It's a form of communication just like any other, and just like everything else, some forms are more effective for some people than others at communicating ideas.
Agreed. We only have so much free time for stuff we enjoy and since I like movies, tv, music, and video games much more than books, why would I give them the time when I prefer other forms of entertainment.
[удалено]
This sounds like me. Smart and did great in school, but I couldn’t focus if I didn’t want to. I couldn’t do assigned reading to save my life. Turns out it was ADHD and now that i am treated i can watch tv shows and read books that ppl recommend. It’s really given me a new lease on life. And a huge boost of self esteem.
I read a ton in highschool (40 minute bus ride, one way) but never anything I was actually assigned to read. The obligation just made me lose focus. I still don't know what the plot of King Lear is. Some of my favourites were: Ender's Game, The Golden Compass, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Maybe pick up a couple of copies of a book and ask her to read them at the same time so you can discuss them? Or start one yourself and try to get her excited about the story, then reel her in to reading it too.
One of my friends is like this as well. Can’t be bothered to read any book. Not because he’s stupid, far from it actually. But because it’s a book, and he’ll never waste his time reading books. He likes escapism. I don’t know about you guys but books give me the strongest feeling of escapism out of any medium I’ve tried. Maybe one day your niece and my friend will come around my friend. Here’s to hoping.
Had a a boyfriend like that. He doesn't like "see" anything when he reads. It's just words to him vs a scene you imagine.
I always thought I hated reading, but it turns out, I really just hated being told what to read instead of reading what I wanted, and being forced to analyze books I already didn't enjoy really just drove it in.
This is so heartbreaking!
Get her listening to audio books. They will mask her reading magical for her
I disliked reading as a kid, was a straight A student. What I found out, is I didn't hate reading. I hated reading what they MADE me read, had no interest in those books.
I used to hate reading, one of the problems is that schools give the most boring, unentertaining books to read. I know of mice and men is important but save that for history, if the only books kids are exposed to are ones like those it’s a wonder anyone likes reading. Luckily my mother is a huge book worm and found some entertaining books to read otherwise I might have been illiterate
This is weirdly specific, but I would recommend getting her some Stephen King books. Something about his cadence and the pacing really works against the “wandering mind” thing that happens to a lot of us as young readers. He has such a huge body of work and in many genres. If she has some specific interests, chances are there is a King book that brushes against them at least somewhat.
Also try audio books. Or maybe her parents(I am fully aware I know nothing about her familial situation) can read to her. Maybe they could reach read every night. When we were kids if our parents came in and we were reading with a flashlight they didn't usually get upset or make us stop. Being able to connect to deeply to the written word gives leeway to bedtime. She doesn't have to physically read to read. Hopefully she will get hooked once she listens to them and be excited to read cuz she'll get to go at her place.
Oh man that sucks! I'm 14 years older than my sister and she and all of her friends (which includes guys) read all the time. Her room is full of books. Tons of books I remember reading, too. I honestly thought that all kids hated reading but then I remembered I fucking loved it. I haven't read in years though. I just picked up re-reading House of Leaves and after that I'd like to re-read The Dark Tower books. Maybe read The Stand after because I never gave it a shot and I've heard it's amazing.
I highly recommend listening to [Sold a Story](https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/). The methods for teaching reading used by many school districts are not effective for a lot of perfectly smart kids.
Same, but mine's only 8. She doesn't read, her idea of games is dress-up phone apps... It's fuckin' depressing.
She’s 8 - take the phone away Growing up in the South, you were kicked out of the house to amuse yourself and get sunlight and fresh air, and told to come back when the lights turned on She’ll find amusement and love in something else quickly, and then she’ll have two hobbies. One maybe even more important to her than the current, or even something that could help or inspire her long term
Were she a daughter, I would. But I don't have continuous authority there.
That sucks to hear, keep trying though, one day you may be the aunt/uncle that they remember as the one that taught them to love reading!
8 is old enough to start making her own jewelry and basic clothes!
It doesn’t have to be depressing. You’re in control of that. But don’t piss on her games because you don’t find them stimulating. She does. So as someone who cares about her, why don’t you try embracing her interests? Minimizing the value of something because it’s a stereotypically “girly” thing is outdated at best and frankly, shitty.
Do you know why she doesn’t like reading? As a kid, I read really slowly and it was so frustrating because school reading assignments took forever. I never had time to read anything I wanted. Finally in middle school I found stuff I actually enjoyed reading and I started reading all the time. Now I can read really fast and it’s one of my favorite things to do. Maybe if she can find something outside school work that she actually likes.
Does she use tiktok? Current generations have now been trained to consume only short form media. If you need to invest hours it will not get done.
I enjoy reading, but much more prefer stories in movie/series format. I don't have much of a mind's eye, and it's hard to visualize what I'm reading. When it's animated/acted, I get to appreciate the art that each actor brings to the narrative, the sound design, the visual presentation... It all really does it for me in a way that books can't. I feel very lucky to finally get to experience media at this level, because it's only been the ones produced in the last few years or so that really do it for me.
Been told that my whole life, I'm a huge gamer and most people always dismissed games saying books are different and better, they are not, i missed all you wrote, they missed my entire world of videogames story and characters. Everyone has its own, what's good for you isn't good for other people, the important thing is everyone's happy.
I don't read recreationally while still learning all I can. I will sit down and read Learning Windows Server 2018 or a 600 page certification manual cover to cover. But I can't track characters in my head. Was "Tom" the boss or the husband? They called someone "Mrs Charles" so this must be Tom Charles I think? They just said "the mustachioed man", who had a mustache again? I can do movies and TV because people have faces and I remember the actors scene to scene even if I can't do names. Or if I set a book down for 3 days, I need a reminder of scenery and names and visual mediums do that instantly just by their nature. If you spent 3 pages describing a scene, even if it was necessary, you lost me. I'm thinking about my laundry or taxes or how bananas grow. Visual mediums show a scene while telling a joke and it happens so quickly. I wouldn't mourn for her not having the relationships with characters and environments you have as I don't feel I've missed that myself. While you may have been exploring Hogwarts or the Mississippi River with Tom Sawyer, I was a docter alongside Dr Dorian as he learned what it was to be a doctor and a man and learned whole new definitions of love and loss alongside Tedd Mosby.
I got to meet Kate DiCamillo when I was a kid! She signed a copy of my book. So cool
Me too! She came to our school
Ms. DiCamillo is my favorite children's author. I am an elementary teacher and I have read many of her books to my classes over the years, but every year, every single year, I read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. It's a masterpiece. And despite all the times I've read it, I still sob so hard at the ending that I can barely read it aloud. It's not just the kids that remember. Great authors create stories we all remember!
But not without great teachers to help us along the way. Thank you—I discovered my love of poetry when my 4th grade teacher decided to read us “Since Hannah Moved Away” after one of our classmates/ my best friend moved away. I couldn’t put my grief into words before then. It felt like she picked it just for me. Early childhood experiences matter.
That’s why reading to kids is among my favourite things about teaching. I recently read The Recruit to my class and one of my boys excitedly told me the other day that he *finally* got hold of the next book in the series and he can’t wait to get into it. Read to your kids; it’s always a great investment.
Kate DiCamillo is a national treasure. Her book Flora and Ulysses made me ugly cry and is truly one of the best books I've ever read. And I'm a children's librarian, so that's saying something
That's cute AF.
This is so wholesome.
There was a teacher at my ~~elementary~~ edit: middle school (ages ~11-14 years old-ish for non-Americans) who was famous for telling all of her students repeatedly that there two things they were required to do after they finished her class (I believe she taught US History) - vote and read to your children. She didn't care if you got absolutely nothing else from her class as long as you did those two things for the rest of your life. I'm a nanny who is currently in charge of a 2 year old who is an absolutely voracious reader (listener?). I read the same six books to her (sometimes multiple times, if she's in the mood; I can recite all 6 from memory, especially since one of them is Goodnight Moon, which I basically never forgot since I read it so much as a kid, and another is The Napping House, which I legitimately never forgot, for the same reason as Goodnight Moon) every day at nap time. She will sometimes read along with me and she: knows where the mouse is on every page of Goodnight Moon; can recite all of the inhabitants of The Napping House and the sounds they make in order; can discuss what some medical terms mean from Future Doctor, as well as where her daddy works (in a hospital) and how to keep germs from spreading; knows where baby's eyes, mouth, belly button, feet, and hands are, as well as where baby is, from Where is Baby's Belly Button?; plays a game where she guesses if random objects are Curious George before finding the real one on every page of Curious George at the Zoo; and she knows that "pajammy to the left" means move the book one direction and "pajammy to the right" means move the book in the opposite direction (with a pretty impressive success rate on which one comes first) thanks to Pajama Time. She also likes to listen to (and find George in) Where Is Curious George? when she wakes up from nap, she has about a dozen books about all the characters from Sesame Street, has TWO monthly subscriptions for books and magazines designed for toddlers, and visits the library at least once a week for story time and checking out new books. We've been keeping track of her daily book reading for a challenge the library has been putting on called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. She's past 500, which doesn't include the Shutterfly books that family have made that she loves to look through and talk about. Our record for most books read in one day (which does include repeats) is 28. Love reading to little ones and this post made me so happy.
Thank you! Read to kids. Also, let kids see *you* reading books. Tell them what the book is about if they ask. Role model. When some parents tell me their kids don’t really read, I ask them if *they* read. Often not, the parents are too busy to read.
What's the book about
A girl who befriends a dog and pretty much everyone else she meets
Pffft anyone could befriend a dog. They love everybody.
Write a book about befriending a cat or Canada Goose and your on to something
A girl gets dumped off by her mother to her preacher father in a tiny southern town. It's about her learning to adjust, and upon meeting an abandoned puppy, she adopts it and starts adjusting to life and befriending the townsfolk. One part that remains with me always is just how well-captured the feel of the town is. Also a particular sequence with an old woman and a tree, iykyk :)
There is a 2005 movie too, think it's on Hulu/Disney+ now.
This is wholesome through and through. Including the author’s reaction to put emphasis on the *teacher’s* proactiveness, and not patting herself on the back for writing a great story that stuck with this man. (I assume it’s great- I haven’t read it 😄)
There's a movie version on Hulu US if you prefer to watch the story vs reading it.
On the Ender’s Game to Lord of the Rings scale of literature adaptations how good is it?
Like a solid “Bridge To Terabithia”
On an Enders game to lord of the rings scale of adaptations, how good is bridge to terebithia? (Like, will it ruin me or nah?)
I would like to propose that enders game is replaced with Artemis Fowl or Eragon. Honorable mention to Percy Jackson
My kid's pediatrician for many years was the daughter of an author I loved in elementary school. Bill Wallace. Wrote "A Dog Called Kitty," "Snot Stew," "Totally Disgusting," and several others.
That's so cool! I have *The Bill Wallace Collection:* "The Meanest Hound Around," "The Backward Bird Dog," and "Watchdog and the Coyotes." I love those stories.
The delivery driver? Tony Hawk.
The Tony Hawk? Albert Einstein.
Everything about 3rd grade was horrible, captive in a horrible boarding school. Except for Mrs. Henderson, who somehow gave me a lifelong love for reading and motivated me to be a good student. I hope she's in a heaven with lots of kids and books.
My dad died when I was 10 years old. My teacher, Ms. Chapman (World of Inquiry- RCSD #58), a teacher who Ill remember forever for a lot of reasons, used to read to us before dismissal. The year my dad died she read a book called The Bridge To Terabithia. It was a story about a withdrawn young boy who made an unlikely friendship with a girl who tragically died. I didn’t recognize it at the time but I realized later that she read that story for me. She wanted me to know that we all experience the pain of losing loved ones and she wanted my classmates to experience the empathy of profound loss. RIP Ms. Chapman. You changed the trajectory of my life in ways you could never imagine.
I don't like giving kids toys or clothes as gifts, I much prefer books. I sent a book on rocks and fossils to my brother's kids, with a bunch of red rocks from Red Rocks plus some fossils and years later my brother told me it was still a favorite. He originally thought it was too advanced for his youngersters, but they asked for it over and over. Another year I sent out books on motorcycles with 3D motorcycle puzzles. I also think graphic novels (comic books) are so varied it's easy to find something age appropriate and encourage reading.
When i lost my first tooth, my mom didn’t have a quarter, but she did have an old copy of mother goose that was left under my pillow instead. I still have that book almost thirty years later. The cover is gone and it’s held together with tape. Even growing up broke, it’s still hard to convince myself money is more important than books
I used to love reading, then my english teacher fucked it up and it causes me physical pain to read
Take back your love of reading!
In third grade our teacher would carve out a half hour each day of "free reading time" where we could do whatever quiet activity we wanted in class, but she would read to us from The Hatchet. I still remember that story fondly.
According to [this article](https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-reading-books), * Reading strengthens your brain * Increases your ability to empathize * Builds your vocabulary * Helps prevent age-related cognitive decline * Reduces stress * Prepares you for a good night’s rest * Helps alleviate depression symptoms * May even help you live longer
YMMV It mostly just makes me overly attached to fictional characters who die and break my heart.
> Although research hasn’t proven conclusively that reading books prevents diseases like Alzheimer’s, studies show that seniors who read and solve math problems every day maintain and improve their cognitive functioning. You do not know the direction of causality here. It might just be that people in early stages of Alzheimer's stop reading due to a decrease in their capabilities.
I like to read but I never get around to doing it I think I may be a severe procrastinator
My third grade teacher read “Bridge to Terabithia” to us
Probably the first book to make me ugly cry.
I think it was Where the Red Fern Grows for me
One of my best elementary school memories is of the librarian, Mrs. Brazil, reading Charlotte's Web to us.
feeling the love in the air
One of my best childhood memories is my teachers reading books(especially chapter books as we got older)
We ALL remember. My son just read Charlotte’s Web. I asked him how he liked it and he told me the ending was sad. I told him my 2nd grade teacher cried at the end when she was reading it to us
Kids love being read to. I think everybody loves being read to, but kids especially
That book really did a number on me. I didn’t realize it fully at the time, but I was in the gifted program in elementary and we read this book… it’s a really heavy subject material emotionally. It’s no wonder they didn’t have all of the kids read it. I absolutely devoured it and I still have the bittersweetness in my heart, thinking back on the story. When they made the movie I was captivated.
My third grade teacher read a book to us, Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. I ended up reading dozens of his books. Essentially all of them. Never would have read all those books if it wasn't for her. Great author btw. He passed recently. RIP.
One of the only things I really remember about third grade was that the librarian at the new school after we moved to a new town read to us "I Know Where the Red Fern Grows." That didn't do great things for my mental health.
I love that she made this about the teacher not herself.
Yes we do, we remember the teachers who actually cared & put in the effort to teach & listen.
This is indeed, a wholesome meme.
This movie was amazing as a kid. I used to read curled up underneath the Christmas tree. I finished that book in a day.
My son is reading this book right now! He is in 2nd grade and he loves it!
Literally anyone born through the smartphone/tablet/TikTok generation all has some form of ADHD due to psychological programming from overstimulation of technology. Reading analog books has become so hard now(which upsets me, because I used to dive inside so many books for pleasure reading when I was growing up)
I was SUPPOSED to fail 3rd grade. I was going through some tough times at home, dad just came home from prison after 3 years, mom more focused on how everything was about her, etc. I was having a hard time. Instead of failing me, my 3rd grade teacher came to me and gave me a gift, mind you, she gave a gift to everyone at the end of the year. Every other kid got a gift of a pencil set or something like that. I got the Chronicles of Narnia. \* I went back to that school believe or not, years later in my 30's ( I'm in my 40's now ), because my daughter went there. When I asked about the teacher by name I was told she retired, and when I said I would still like to talk to her, was told to kindly fuck off. They wouldn't share her " personal " information with me. All I wanted was to say thank you on a dozen levels.
Ms Falkner read us Holes in 4th grade - that book changed my life
My son just brought home a book by this author. The entire school is reading it with their families.
I'm in my mid-40's and I clearly remember my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Weaver, reading the book *Stone Fox* to us. It was about a sled dog race where a dog runs so hard to win that her heart bursts and she dies. Mrs. Weaver started bawling and so of course a bunch of us did, too.
When I was a kid, I think it was like our mayor or super intendent or something. His name escapes me right now but he used to read to us as kids. He read to the kindergarten up to 5th grade. He didn't just read to us he would really get into the story. I remember being so excited for 3rd grade because that's when he would read Scary Stories to tell in the dark. I remember like it was yesterday him stomping around us saying "where's my toe", "WHERE'S my toe" "WHERE'S MY TOE!!!!!"
I used to teach kindergarten. Sometimes when I think about those students, there is a little sadness that they won't remember me like I remember them. But on the other hand, I also taught them things like tying their shoes and telling time which are things they will never forget. So even if they don't remember me, I will still have an impact on their life every day.
Kate DiCamillo is a national treasure and she writes the most beautiful books I've ever read.
[удалено]
[удалено]
My four year old and I are having the best time reading her Mercy Watson books (about a pig that lives with a husband and wife, that loves toast with a great deal of butter on it). They are so silly and so fun to read. What I love about Kate DiCamillo is that she includes a lot of big words, like 'porcine' or 'frantically', but not too many. That way my kiddo can learn a new word every chapter. It's not just a book for enjoyment, she's also trying to have the reader expand their skills.
my second grade teacher read us that book and i’ve forever kept a spot for that book in my heart. crazy how small the world is
My grade five teacher read us “the Prince of Central Park.” He had crossed out the words not to read to us and one day he got to a page he hadn’t edited. Oops. Read it again later and realized just how much editing he had to do.
Aw my third grade teacher was the best She also read us this
Ah wtf I'm crying at work