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Reading a book to 5-8th grade students
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I have to tell you something. I feel like we’re all friends here, so I can
say this without being embarrassed… I am a geek for reading. I love books!
I’m not talking about those things you read on a screen and that run off
a battery. I’m talking about those old
fashioned things that are made from paper and open and close where the reader
can actually turn the pages. Whether you
are an e-reader enthusiast, a paper book die-hard, or somewhere in between, if
you’ve ever read a good story, you’ll be able to relate to my following
post. Even if you’re illiterate, I
encourage you to find someone to read my words of wisdom out loud for your
listening pleasure.
Have you ever read a book that was so good, you literally
couldn’t put it down? Have you ever been
so engrossed in a story that you stopped reading a few chapters from the end,
holding out on reading the rest for as long as possible because you just didn’t
want it to end? Have you ever read
something that transported you to another place or time? Have you ever fallen in love with a character
who just seemed so perfect? Have you
ever thrown a book across the room because of an unsettling ending? Have you
ever been surprised by a plot twist or unexpected ending? Have you ever read a book that made you think
about the world a little bit differently?
Have you ever read a book that made you question yourself, your beliefs,
or your integrity? If you answered “no”
to all of the above questions, you have been reading the wrong kinds of books-
probably something in the Nicolas Sparks genre- I implore you to branch
out! Just kidding, I have nothing
against Nicholas Sparks (except that all his books take place in North Carolina
and feature characters named Landon and Juliet), that was just a little joke
for my mom. Hi Mom!
Seriously though, this is the power of reading. It allows you to walk in someone else’s shoes
for a while, to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Books can show you the world (just like Aladdin
did for Jasmine). You can travel to
India, Kenya, or Brazil without leaving your couch. You can visualize life in another time
through a writer’s vivid descriptions.
You can ask yourself what choices you might make if faced with the same
decisions of the characters.
Books give the reader the power to explore and to create,
and I am certainly no expert, but I believe that this power is immeasurably
important, especially for children. Most
of you reading this blog probably remember being read to as a child. If not, hopefully you have had the chance to
read to a child whether that be your own child, a niece or nephew, a
grandchild, a babysitting charge, or a student in a classroom. I can still remember the life lessons I learned
as a child from the Berenstain Bears, hating that selfish kid who took
everything from his friend- The Giving Tree, enjoying the wacky adventures of
Amelia Bedelia, and the wisdom of Dr. Seuss.
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School library
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I was fortunate enough to develop a love of reading at an
early age. I remember having loads of
books at home and making frequent trips to the local library. Most kids in Ethiopia are not so fortunate. It would be extremely rare to find any books
of fiction in most homes. Libraries are
not much better. My school library is in
a pretty nice building, and even better it’s open during the school day and
students actually do go there. There are
several shelves of textbooks, dictionaries, and other study materials. There are no stories in fiction to foster
reading for enjoyment. There are no
books that would appeal to most children.
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Grade 6 students with their book reports. These books have already been generously donated.
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So this brings me to my current project—get some books to
Ethiopia! How can you help? Oh well, I’m so glad you asked… Below I have posted a list of children’s
books that I would like to have for the students in my school. By logging on to betterworldbooks.com you can
purchase these books and others. This
website sells new and used books, some for as little as $5, and the best part
is, the shipping is FREE! So every
purchase you make will be sent directly to me at no extra cost other than the
price of the book. If you want to buy a
few books, great! If you want to send
one book, awesome! Whatever you can do
will be much appreciated! On a side
note, Better World Books is a buy 1, give 1 company, so for every book that is
bought off their website, another book is donated to a organization in need
somewhere in the world. Keep that in
mind for your future book-buying needs.
How is this going to work, exactly…
1.
Read my list of suggested books and check out
the website for prices.
2.
Once you decide which book(s) you would like to
send, email me with your choice. (aliciainafrica@gmail.com) Please do this before purchasing so that I can inform you if someone else has
already bought that book. Hopefully this
will cut down on duplicates.
3.
When I have confirmed your book choice, go
online and purchase the book(s) using your credit/debit card.
4.
Enter my address into the shipping information
so the books come directly to me. (P.O. Box 406 Ambo, Ethiopia).
5.
Pat yourself on the back for your good deed and
a job well done!
6.
Once you
book arrives in Ethiopia, I will make an inscription in the book that says who
it was donated by, and I will send you a confirmation and thank you email for
your donation.
The list below is just a starting point for books. If you have a favorite book from your
childhood or a book that your kids love, and you don’t see it on the list,
please email me about it- if it’s that great I’d love to add it my school
library. Also, I am hoping that from the
generosity of family and friends I am able to get more books than are on this
list. I’m also interested in books that
feature non-white characters and books that would appeal to older students
(just remember these kids are learning English as their third language, so text
should be fairly simple).
My last request, I promise- if you think this book idea is a
worthy cause, please help me get the word out.
You can use the links at the bottom of this post to email, post of
facebook, tweet, etc. If you know
someone who might be interested in buying a book, please pass the word. If you know someone who knows me but doesn’t
regularly read this blog (I can’t imagine who wouldn’t be regularly hanging on
my every post), please let them know to check it out. Thank you very much! Bayyee galatooma!!
Requested Books
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TITLE
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AUTHOR
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Where
the Wild Things Are
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Maurice
Sendak
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The
Cat in the Hat
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Dr.
Seuss
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Green
Eggs and Ham
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Dr.
Seuss
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Oh,
the Places You’ll Go
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Dr.
Seuss
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The
Lorax
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Dr.
Seuss
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The
Very Hungry Caterpillar
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Eric
Carle
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The
Giving Tree
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Shel
Silverstein
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Charlotte’s
Web
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E.B.
White
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The
Runaway Bunny
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Margaret
Wise Brown
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Cloudy
with a Chance of Meatballs
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Judy
& Ron Barrett
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Alexander
and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day
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Judith
Viorst
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Guess
How Much I Love You
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Sam
McBratney
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Pat
the Bunny
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Dorothy
Kunhardt
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Love
You Forever
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Robert
N. Munsch
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Brown
Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?
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Bill
Martin & Eric Carle
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Harold
and the Purple Crayon
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Crockett
Johnson
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Press
Here
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Herve
Tullet
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Go,
Dog. Go!
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P.D.
Eastman
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Are
You My Mother?
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P.D.
Eastman
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Chicka
Chicka Boom Boom
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Bill
Martin Jr. & John Archambault
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Fancy
Nancy
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Jane
O’Connor
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Corduroy
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Don
Freeman
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The
Little Engine That Could
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Watty
Piper
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The
Tale of Peter Rabbit
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Beatrix
Potter
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If
You Give a Mouse a Cookie
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Laura
Joffe Numeroff
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Madeline
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Ludwig
Bemelmans
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Make
Way for Ducklings
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Robert
McCloskey
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The
Story of Ferdinand
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Munro
Leaf
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Amazing
Grace
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Mary
Hoffman
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The
Story of Barbar
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Jean
De Brunhoff
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Why
Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears
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Verna Aardema
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Stone
Soup
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Marcia
Brown
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Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory
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Roald
Dahl
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Llama
Llama Red Pajama
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Anna
Dewdney
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Madeline
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Ludwig
Bemelmans
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We’re
Going on a Bear Hunt
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Michael
Rosen
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Russell
the Sheep
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Rob
Scotton
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Ben’s
Dream
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Chris
Van Allsburg
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The
Velveteen Rabbit
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Margery
Williams
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All
by Myself
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Mercer
Mayer
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Clifford’s
Manners
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Norman
Bridwell
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Magic
Tree House (any books from series)
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Mary
Pope Osborne
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