I'm starting something new this year -- book clubs for my fourth, fifth and sixth graders. I've never had time in my schedule until recently. I didn't expect many students to show much interest in a recess reading club but, with the encouragement of the teachers, the kids have been signing up. So, I am excited at the prospect of introducing them to some really cool books.
Here are a few of the titles I'm considering.
The Magic Thief, by Sarah Prineas
Rules, by Cynthia Lord
No Talking, by Andrew Clements
The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall
Replay, by Sharon Creech
The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Hugging the Rock, by Susan Taylor Brown
Holes, by Louis Sachar
Crash, by Jerry Spinelli
Autumn Street, by Lois Lowry
I know I need to find more titles for my fourth graders. Maybe Frindle, by Andrew Clements or Fourth Grade Rats, by Jerry Spinelli.
I recently found a good source of decent quotes about reading. I hope to introduce the kids to a new quote each time we meet. Maybe the students can even take turns reading them on the morning announcements. Brainwashing at its best! Here are a few of the quotes I like.
Books....are like lobster shells, we surround ourselves with 'em,
then we grow out of 'em and leave 'em behind,
as evidence of our earlier stages of development. (1928)
~ Dorothy Sayers ~
Read the best books first,
or you may not have a chance to read them at all.
~ Henry David Thoreau ~
Books--the children of the brain.
~ Jonathan Swift ~
A great book should leave you with many
experiences and slightly exhausted at the end.
You should live several lives while reading it.
~ William Styron ~
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
~ Richard Steele ~
The more that you read,
the more things you will know.
The more that you learn,
the more places you'll go.
~ Dr. Seuss ~
Reading makes immigrants of us all.
It takes us away from home, but more important,
it finds homes for us everywhere.
~ Hazel Rochman ~
It is not enough to simply teach children to read;
we have to give them something worth reading.
Something that will stretch their imaginations-
something that will help them make sense of their own lives
and encourage them to reach out toward people
whose lives are quite different from their own.
~ Katherine Paterson ~
Outside a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside a dog, it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
Arnold Lobel
Do you have a favorite quote about books or reading? If so, please share it!
